Clelia (Eleonora Rossi Drago), an elegant lady from Rome, comes to her hometown Turin in order to check if the works would fit the dates in the house where she is going to establish her new fashion salon. When she stays at a hotel, a terrible event takes place in the opposite room 112...a young woman, Rosetta Savone (Madeleine Fischer), has attempted to commit suicide... Why? The answer lies in the complicated relations of a group of women whom Rosetta has known for long and whom Clelia joins as a friend. Although the action starts in "media res" and the events constitute about 7 days, the characters from this movie are unforgettable as well as its content filled with wonderful thoughts about significant aspects of life and happiness. Therefore, although Michelangelo Antonioni is famous worldwide not thanks to this movie, I consider LE AMICHE one of his very best cinema works. Let me discuss some of the film's strongest points in more details.

The film can boast a particularly rich character development. The girlfriends (title "amiche") are mostly women from leisure social classes who spend their lives on unimportant cases, particularly clothes, parties, and Sunday afternoon trips to the seaside. Momina De Stefani (Yvonne Furneaux) is the oldest of them but at the same time the most selfish. She treats life as a game to play limiting it to perfumes, beauty creams and clothes. It is her that bores Rosetta most by her cynical behavior. Mariella (Anna Maria Pancani), a woman that today men would describe "a dolly", represents this vanity most. She thinks the woman's dress is skin and is ready to do anything to look beautiful. In between comes Nene (Valentina Cortese) who is rather torn psychologically between her interests and the reality she lives in (marriage). Rosetta is tired of living with them and looks for a true and stable happiness with a man she cannot marry... Throughout the film, a viewer can feel what characters feel since great focus is put on emotions. However, it would be a limited view to say that only female characters are developed. There are also men who step in with their different world-views. The emphasis is put on Lorenzo (Gabrielle Ferzetti), Nene's husband, an artist painter whose career and family life are exposed to crisis. He cannot stand the vanity of the women but at the same time is torn between his desire for career and the marriage he lives in. Finally, Cesare (Franco Fabrizi), an architect, man from high society represents rather an arrogant person but in the end, someone who does not treat problems as seriously as Lorenzo. In this way, LE AMICHE is not only a story of women but, foremost, an interesting insight into male-female relations, their different world-views, different feelings. Consider Rosetta-Lorenzo conversation and the two different ways they see love...

Besides, Antonioni's movie is a treasure of psychological thoughts and treatment of significant issues of life. Here, a mention must be made of Nene-Lorenzo's marriage and the aspect of forgiveness. "A childless couple can stay together only for love" says Nene to Rosetta in their conversation that is a masterpiece of acting and script by Suso Cecchi d'Amico. Yet, forgiveness cures everything... Apart from that, the words that a salon's lady says to Clelia are also worth consideration: "Happiness means no reflecting upon if I am happy or not but simply living my life." I also loved the moment when Rosetta travels by train with Clelia and they talk about the need of friends, the gist of being happy and the best possible way to live life. How intellectually these problems are treated! Magnificent! And all this embedded in the interesting gentle tunes by Mario Fusco.

The cast give such fine performances that viewers have a chance to get to know the characters much better than in many other films. Yvonne Furneaux is exceptionally memorable as cynical and calm nerved Momina whose sole aim of life is the good appearance and who plays with others' feelings. Eleonora Rossi Drago is very sensible as Clelia expressing her elegance and positive character of a woman who finds happiness in her satisfying work. Madeleine Fischer is wonderful as Rosetta Savone, a desperate person who cannot live a happy life. Finally, Valentina Cortese is unforgettable as Nene, probably the fairest of them all ready to sacrifice everything and forgive everything.

LE AMICHE shows the life from its objective perspective and therefore it is a movie absolutely worth attention for anybody. LE AMICHE is filled with profound thoughts even if its content seems to be filled with vanity and therefore, it is Antonioni's psychological masterpiece. LE AMICHE is an empathy with those in despair and therefore, it is not dated though more than 50 years old. Finally, LE AMICHE is characterized by great performances and therefore, it is a pearl among Italian films. Pity that there are so few comments on the site. 8/10!

Michaelangelo Antonioni is/was an interesting director, but personally more appreciate and recognise him for his influence in film rather than love him. His films are extremely well made and interesting on a thematic level (some like urban alienation being ground-breaking) and his directing style is unique. His style and films are not for all tastes though, for while his films fascinate and transfix many they alienate and perplex others, both sides understandable.

'Le Amiche' may not be one of his most best-known or most important films, other films of his may have scenes with slightly more staying power and their themes more ground-breaking. Actually though, 'Le Amiche' is one of my favourite Antonioni films all the same, even though it is an early effort and made when he was still settling his style. It is one of his more accessible films, one of the easiest to connect with emotionally for me and it had clearer and more individual character/story development than other films of his. Also he doesn't try to do too much here and he doesn't hammer the points home too hard that it feels heavy-handed. Even though an early film, 'Le Amiche' sees Antonioni experimenting with the story structure especially, as well as some of the camera work (the long takes showing no signs of breaking).

As always with Antonioni, 'Le Amiche' is very striking visually. The black and white still looks stunning, the scenery is wonderfully vivid in every frame and there is ingenious use of unbroken long takes that helps give depth to the characters and their individual stories. The music is thankfully the kind that complements rather than clashes and has no trouble fitting with the tone and atmosphere.

The writing didn't come over as rambling to me and instead came over as sincere and thought-provoking. The story was far from shallow and far from vague, the very intriguing themes handled in a way that made impact but not in a way that one feels like they are being preached at. It doesn't come over as incoherent or confused either, or like a disjointed hodge-podge, while the characters are startlingly rich in individuality. A really great job is done giving dimension and meaning to the characters and much of the storytelling had charm and poignancy, didn't find myself detached here. The characters feel real, not ciphers with some of the strongest female character writing seen in any film by me recently. The male characters aren't quite as strong but aren't focused on as much and they still intrigue.

Eleanora Rosi Drago and Valentina Cortese are especially magnificent of the cast, one where Antonioni coaxes uniformly never less than fine performances out of. The film is beautifully directed by Antonioni, it never came over as dull, the social groupings are suitably elaborate and the extended afternoon beach sequence is unforgettable (a fine example too of this visual mastery and how Antonioni excelled so well here in the experimenting).

Overall, a wonderful film and one of my favourites from Antonioni. 10/10 Bethany Cox