Beruf: Reporter

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. (15.12.2014)

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%. (28.04.2019)

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% (06.12.2015)

Ich verehre Jack Nicholson grenzenlos, aber Antonioni ist für mich ein schwerer Schöpfer, dessen Filme schwer verdaulich sind. Und ich muss zugeben, dass ich bei Beruf: Reporter kämpfen musste, um die Aufmerksamkeit aufrechtzuerhalten. Vielleicht werde ich dieses langsame existenzielle Drama irgendwann in der Zukunft zu schätzen wissen, aber momentan gebe ich nur eine gleichgültige, uninteressierte Bewertung. (09.09.2019)