Zabriskie Point

Genre: psychological drama (or maybe an ‟apocalyptic adventure film”)

With: Mark Frechette (Mark), Daria Halprin (Daria), Rod Taylor (Lee Allen), Paul Fix (the café owner), G.D. Spradlin (Allen's associate), Bill Garaway (Morty), Harrison Ford (an arrested student)

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

Screenplay: Michelangelo Antonioni, Franco Rossetti, Sam Shepard, Tonino Guerra and Clare Peploe

Release: 1970

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Trianon Productions

Rating: PA

MBiS score: 8.8/10

Dreaming Up a Revolution

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Story-line: a student protester and a young woman recently hired by a real estate executive share time in the Mojave Desert.  

Pluses: mordant dialogues tempered with occasional humour, an elliptical screenplay that captures the tumultuous mood of the times, solid performances by seldom seen actors, an intriguing soundtrack featuring Pink Floyd, Jerry Garcia and one very topical song by Roy Orbison, masterful direction and an exceptionally strong production team (Alfio Contini [photography], Franco Arcalli and Michelangelo Antonioni [editing], Dean Tavoularis [production design], George Nelson [set decoration] and Ray Summers [costume design]).

Minuses: there is product placement everywhere in this movie… but it’s not the kind corporate advertisers would relish.

Comments: when I first saw this mythical film back in the 70s, I thought it was aesthetically pleasing but rather empty; seeing it again in our new era of global uproar has radically changed my view. ZABRISKIE POINT is daring in its relentless, frame-by-frame opposition between young idealists and an uncaring world choking on commercialism, pollution, urban sprawl and social excess. You will be bowled over by its powerful make-believe ending reminiscent of IF..., another subversive movie of that time. If you’re looking for a refuge from the rat race, ZABRISKIE POINT might just be the place. 

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