The Passenger
The mutual admiration between actor Jack Nicholson and director Michelangelo Antonioni resulted in the psychological drama The Passenger. Nicholson plays David Locke, a disillusioned American reporter who is sent on a grueling mission to North Africa. When he stumbles across the body of a dead man, Locke, long desirous of starting life over again, assumes the corpse's identity. He soon discovers that the man he's pretending to be is involved in gun running on behalf of a terrorist group. Making the acquaintance of a mysterious woman (Maria Schneider), he finds a kindred spirit -- a woman as "lost" as he.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry, Steven Berkoff
What's most shocking about The Passenger 30 years later? Seeing Jack Nicholson at the lean, sardonic height of his youthful powers? Finding a Michelangelo Antonioni movie with an actual plot?
Still packs a wallop. It's also a movie with no easy passage to its dark heart.
A rare chance to see a major cinematic work on the big screen.
Visually stunning adventure. (Review of Original Release)
The Passenger isn't finally the masterpiece some have made it out to be, but it retains a singular intrigue: It's the first, and probably the last, thriller ever made about depression.
Best European Film (Bedste europæiske film)
Bodil Awards (1976)
Michelangelo Antonioni
Cannes Film Festival (1975)
Best Cinematography (Migliore Fotografia)
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (1976)
Best Foreign Actor (Mejor Actor Extranjero)
Sant Jordi Awards (1977)
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