PFA: "The Passenger" by Michelangelo Antonioni

Frustrated about his life and his failure to effectively inquire/report about rebels in Africa, David Locke takes the identity of a dead man (Mr. Robinson) in the hotel room adjacent to his by switching rooms and passports. Locke soon realizes that his new persona is a gun dealer for the African rebels that he was attempting to report about. He finds this new lifestyle intriguing and tries to make all of the schedule appointments in Mr. Robinson’s schedule. However, nobody seems to show up at most these appointments but in the process he meets a mysterious lady, known as “The Girl.” Throughout the entire film, he is being pursued by both his wife and a hit squad that was trying to kill Mr. Robinson for supplying the rebels with money. The movie ends in a tragic scene in Africa, where Locke is murdered by the hit squad and his wife sees his dead body.

In one scene of the movie, Locke listens to a tape of a conversation that he and Robinson had in the past. What is particularly interesting about this scene is that the conversation is being acted out on the screen at the same time we see Locke listening to the tape in the future in the same room—merging the two times into one image. So in effect, this scene allows the viewer to experience two moments in time simultaneously. In another scene, Locke’s wife and friend watch video tapes of Locke reporting the news. This allows the wife and audience to look at Locke in a previous time and persona—giving us the ability to juxtapose Locke’s new and old personas.

-Christopher Melgaard.