The Passenger

I will adore Jack Nicholson forever, but Antonioni is a difficult filmmaker for me to appreciate, as his movies are weighty and hard to digest. Also, I must admit that with The Passenger, I had problems concentrating, it did not hold my attention. I may be able to appreciate this creeping existential drama sometime in the future, but so far I can only give an indifferent, uninvolved assessment. (09/08/2019)

Unfortunately, the interesting story is completely dominated by its blandness, with a promising premise that results only in boring and outwardly aesthetic philosophy, which is all the more unconvincing the more Antonioni tries to adapt the film to a wider audience. Hypnotic cinematography, skilful atmospheric direction that manages to move the plot along even with a minimum of spoken lines, and of course the traditionally excellent Jack Nicholson belong unwaveringly to the first cinematic league, but as a whole they build a mediocre narrative with a desperately absent dramatic or emotional arc that would have given the twists or at least the characters a more distinctive and realistic face... 60% (12/06/2015)

Michelangelo Antonioni never knew how to film stories. He did not consider it his goal or his handicap, and he never actually tried it in practice. The Passenger is a film that does not deviate from this statement, but its subject matter acts as a disguise that obscures the existential nature of the film and evokes a feeling, or rather a hope, that you are watching a genre film. The basis of the drama could easily be used for a gripping thriller, its potential is enormous. You easily forget how "empty" the film actually is, thanks to the internal tension. The charm of the film lies precisely in the viewer's expectation of what exciting thing will happen in the following scene. You will realize over time that the director was pulling your leg (although I don't think that was his intention). Antonioni traditionally reveals the minimum about his characters and devotes the most time to exterior shots and his protagonist. The feelings you take away from his film will depend on what you expect from cinema as a whole and the time devoted to the film. Antonioni was never a fan of action spectacles, but I don't think those are the types of people who will seek this film out. Overall impression: 60%. (04/28/2019)

This film delivers heavy philosophizing, interesting environment and Jack Nicholson in his classically disheveled form, not unlike that in Shining. I don’t think I need to add anything more, only that sometimes the pace was too slow. (12/15/2014)