My father and I saw L'AVVENTURA in New York when it was brand new and we both absolutely loved it. I think those who "hated" it were not very sophisticated, like the people who "hated" Picasso or Matisse in earlier years, or perhaps the films of earlier great directors you would know more about than I do. Sneers and catcalls at Cannes reflected the lack of a conventional "narrative arc," obviously; the superficial judgment that "nothing was happening." In general, it doesn't seem that boos at Cannes first screenings are very revealing, except that they may be good publicity. I might add that my father had a "thing" for Monica Vitti, and I loved watching her myself, in anything.
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