A Leap in the Dark
Encyclopedia
A Leap in the Dark is a 1980 Italian film
written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée
, who won the Best Actor
and Best Actress
prizes respectively at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
. It also won the David di Donatello for Best Director
.
in The New Yorker
: " The protagonist of Leap - a judge, Mauro Ponticelli, played by the usually suave French actor Michel Piccoli - is mean in perverse, Bunuel
ian ways...Mauro has always been protected and cared for by his older sister, Marta..He has no intention of growing up...[her] unusual behaviour has actually been a sign that she is rebelling - that she's struggling to free herself from her deathly bondage to him... The movie is about family entanglements and the functions of madness...Mauro is a craven fraud...Mauro the judge is a worm : a spoiled worm wriggling in its comfortable nest...Piccoli is able to give this mesmerizing performance despite the fact that he and Anouk Aimée
are dubbed into Italian...Anouk Aimée is usually strikingly beautiful and a little blank - not quite in contact;.. But she's a magnificent camera subject, and her remoteness fits the situatuion here..Leap Into the Void is a film about people who are out of control made by a director who's in as close to total control as a moviemaker is ever likely to be..there's greatness in it."
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée
Anouk Aimée
Anouk Aimée is a French film actress. Aimée has appeared in 70 films since 1947. She began her film career in 1947 at age 14. In 1958 she portrayed the tragic artist Jeanne Hébuterne in the film Les Amants de Montparnasse...
, who won the Best Actor
Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
and Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
prizes respectively at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
1980 Cannes Film Festival
The 33rd Cannes Film Festival was held on May 9-23. The showing of Andrei Tarkovsky's film Stalker is interrupted by an electricians strike.- Jury :*Kirk Douglas *Ken Adam *Robert Benayoun *Veljko Bulajić...
. It also won the David di Donatello for Best Director
David di Donatello for Best Director
-1965:*Francesco Rosi - Il momento della verità *Vittorio De Sica - Matrimonio all'italiana -1966:*Alessandro Blasetti - Io, io, io...e gli altri...
.
Plot
Judge Mauro Ponticelli has been raised by his older sister Marta. However, Marta has been having mental problems and fantasizing about committing suicide, which concerns him greatly. She seems to recover when he introduces her to Giovanni Sciabola, a brilliant actor, but Mauro then finds himself becoming jealous of their relationship.Criticism
The film was favourably reviewed by the eminent critic Pauline KaelPauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
: " The protagonist of Leap - a judge, Mauro Ponticelli, played by the usually suave French actor Michel Piccoli - is mean in perverse, Bunuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
ian ways...Mauro has always been protected and cared for by his older sister, Marta..He has no intention of growing up...[her] unusual behaviour has actually been a sign that she is rebelling - that she's struggling to free herself from her deathly bondage to him... The movie is about family entanglements and the functions of madness...Mauro is a craven fraud...Mauro the judge is a worm : a spoiled worm wriggling in its comfortable nest...Piccoli is able to give this mesmerizing performance despite the fact that he and Anouk Aimée
Anouk Aimée
Anouk Aimée is a French film actress. Aimée has appeared in 70 films since 1947. She began her film career in 1947 at age 14. In 1958 she portrayed the tragic artist Jeanne Hébuterne in the film Les Amants de Montparnasse...
are dubbed into Italian...Anouk Aimée is usually strikingly beautiful and a little blank - not quite in contact;.. But she's a magnificent camera subject, and her remoteness fits the situatuion here..Leap Into the Void is a film about people who are out of control made by a director who's in as close to total control as a moviemaker is ever likely to be..there's greatness in it."
Cast
- Michel Piccoli - Mauro Ponticelli
- Anouk Aimée - Marta Ponticelli
- Michele PlacidoMichele PlacidoMichele Placido is an internationally known Italian actor and director. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra.-Life and career:...
- Giovanni Sciabola - Gisella Burinato - Anna
- Antonio Piovanelli - Quasimodo
- Anna Orso - Marilena
- Pier Giorgio Bellocchio - Giorgio