Il Grido (The Cry) (1957)

80% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(1,211 ratings)

The grim, drab life of a man who labors in a Po Valley sugar refinery in northern Italy provides the center of this black-and-white drama from Michelangelo Antonioni. The worker lives with a married woman and their young daughter. One day, the woman learns that her legal spouse died. The refinery… More The grim, drab life of a man who labors in a Po Valley sugar refinery in northern Italy provides the center of this black-and-white drama from Michelangelo Antonioni. The worker lives with a married woman and their young daughter. One day, the woman learns that her legal spouse died. The refinery worker immediately proposes, but she spurns him in favor of another. Deeply depressed, the laborer begins to drift aimlessly across the northern wasteland with his daughter in tow. Along the way, he meets many people, including a woman from his past. Despite his many low-key adventures, he is unable to forget his daughter's mother and so returns to find that she lives in a new home with a new child. The story comes to its climax during a demonstration protesting the building of a U.S. airfield where the refinery stands. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 55 min.
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Ennio De Concini, Michelangelo Antonioni
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1957 Wide
On DVD: Sep 26, 2000
Studio: Kino on Video

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A bleak and desolate film, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni with an eye to the emotive powers of the barren landscape.
Leslie Camhi, Village Voice
The camera's spare, stunning compositions and the tone of loss and disaffection anticipate Antonioni's later, brilliant explorations of bourgeois anomie.
A.H. Weiler, New York Times
A fairly lucid story that puts no undue strain on a viewer's imagination or intellect.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The two American actors, Cochran and Blair, seem to lack any understanding of the director's methods and deliver the least satisfying performances to be found in any Antonioni film.
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Visually brilliant drama.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Steve Cochran gives a superb performance.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
One of many duds from Michelangelo Antonioni.
Jeremiah Kipp, ToxicUniverse.com
The beautifully desolate cinematography is rich in its gray color palette.
Keith Phipps, AV Club
If Antonioni's assuredness isn't yet in place, Il Grido remains a key transitional work, with remarkable photography, fluid camerawork, and a typically unforgettable finale ranking among its most notable virtues.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stefanie C

Despairing and poetic. 'Loneliness is such a drag...'
Gevvy S

Very gray and desolate. What I liked about this film was the strange glimmer of hope present throughout Aldo's journey despite such despair. The use of music throughout is pretty cool too. Strange, absurd, and depressing film.
Tobias X

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