The Passenger
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Run Time: 126 min. Format: 35mm Rating: PG13 Release Year: 1975
Starring: Ian Hendry, Jack Nicholson, Jenny Runacre, Maria Schneider
A frustrated war correspondent finds himself on an unexpected journey after assuming the identity of a deceased arms dealer in Michelangelo Antonioni’s THE PASSENGER. A 35mm presentation!
British/American television journalist David Locke (Jack Nicholson) runs into trouble with making his documentary on post-colonial Africa after being unable to find the rebel fighters involved in Chad’s civil war. Returning to his hotel one day, he finds his new friend Robertson has passed away. Tired of his work and personal life, Locke steals Robertson’s identity for a fresh start but only to find that he was a gunrunner for the rebels. Joining up with architecture student (Maria Schneider), Locke can’t shake his journalistic tendencies as he follows appointment dates in leads from the dead man’s diary. In classic Antonioni’s style, The Passenger shows a lonely despondent figure making his/her way through an expansive landscape in search of the truth.
Part of the Journalists in Film series by VICE News and Nitehawk Cinema.