Michelangelo Antonioni-Le Amiche (1955)

Roman couturier Clelia (Eleonora Rossi-Drago) leaves the big city to work at a boutique in Turin. She moves into a hotel and makes several new friends, but is soon drawn into their extremely unpleasant lives. Clelia enters a doomed relationship with a poor architect's assistant (Ettore Manni), sees her new best friend Rosetta (Madeleine Fischer) commit suicide after being jilted by her married lover (Gabriele Ferzetti), and is eventually fired from her new job when her hysteria over Rosetta's death interferes with her work. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide




Clelia finally goes back to Rome, and viewers will not blame her a bit. Le Amiche, based on a 1949 article published in La Bella Estate ("Tre Donne Sole" by Cesare Pavese), is perhaps Michelangelo Antonioni's first great film. Juggling 10 characters with great aplomb, Antonioni and co-screenwriters Suso Cecchi D'Amico and Alba De Cespedes have created a rich, interlocking narrative which manages to rise above mere melodrama through careful attention to the ebb and flow of interpersonal relationships and a keen sense of balance. The fine supporting cast includes Valentina Cortese, Yvonne Furneaux, and Franco Fabrizi. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide




Clelia comes from Rome to her native Turin, to set up a new fashion salon. On her first night, the woman in the next room of her hotel takes an overdose of pills. Clelia becomes involved with this woman, Rosetta, and three of her rich women friends, Momina, Nene, and Mariella. Momina is older than the others, and lives apart from her husband. Her current lover is Cesare, the architect of Clelia's salon. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0047821/plotsummary)




Nene is a talented ceramics artist, and lives with her fiance, the painter Lorenzo. Mariella is a flighty woman only interested in having a good time. Clelia becomes attached to Carlo, the architect's assistant, but the other women look down on him as he comes from a working class background. Momina, with the help of Clelia, discovers that Rosetta fell in love with Lorenzo as he was painting her portrait. Momina then encourages Rosetta to go after Lorenzo, even though he and Nene were supposed to marry soon. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0047821/plotsummary)




Michelangelo Antonioni explores women's evolving role in society and the conflict between love and career in this engrossing drama. Clelia, a beautiful young woman who lands her dream job in a glamourous Italian fashion house, soon finds herself plunged into a cruel world of phony, shallow people. The only honesty in her life is the pure love offered by Carlo, a young, socially impoverished assistant architect. But is it enough? With its fascinating, multi-layered story, rich characterizations and superb performances, "Le Amiche" remains one of Antonioni's most beloved works. (amazon.com)




Although it may not be considered "classic" Antonioni as much as his Sixties films, the interplay of the four or five lead actresses in Le Amiche is fascinating to watch, particularly Eleonora Rossi Drago as Clelia, who exudes a very grounded inner radiance. She is often more in the observer role to other people's dramas, yet finally the film is about her and her own quiet achievement of full independence. L'Amiche is a typical Antonioni because it's full of dialogue and crowded with characters, as opposed to spare and formalistic, but it's none the worse for that. (amazon.com)