Identification of a Woman (1982)

Identification of a Woman movie storyline. The movie director Niccolò has just been left by his wife. Subsequently he embarks on an obsessive relationship with a young woman who eventually leaves him and disappears (shades also of L’Avventura) while searching for her, he meets a variety of other willing girls. This gives him the idea of making a movie about women’s relationships. He starts to search for a woman who can play the leading part in the movie.

Identification of a Woman (Italian: Identificazione di una donna) is a 1982 Italian drama film written, directed, and edited by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Tomás Milián, Daniela Silverio, and Christine Boisson. The film is about an Italian filmmaker searching for a woman to play the leading role in his next film, and also in his life. Filmed on location in Rome and Venice, Identification of a Woman was awarded the 35th Anniversary Prize at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.

About the Story

Niccolò (Tomás Milián) is a successful Italian filmmaker searching for a woman to inspire his next film and perhaps fill the romantic void left by his recent divorce. At his sister’s gynecology office, he answers the phone and speaks briefly with a young woman named Mavi Luppis (Daniela Silverio) who is looking to make an appointment. She recognized his name and something sparks his imagination. He notes her name and address, and a few days later invites her to his Rome apartment where they make love.

Sometime later, Niccolò receives a mysterious phone call from a man wanting to meet about a “delicate matter” at Fassi’s ice cream parlor. Niccolò meets with the stranger who warns him about continuing his relationship with Mavi if he values his “peace of mind”. Later at his apartment, Niccolò tells Mavi about the “stooge” who threatened him on behalf of one of her suitors. Mavi doesn’t know who it could be. Wondering who is behind the threats, Niccolò asks Mavi to introduce him to some of her old aristocratic friends. They go to Dandini’s restaurant where she’s greeted by several old friends, including an older gentleman who stops her on the stairs and talks with her. Afterwards Mavi informs Niccolò that she feels uncomfortable and asks to leave.

Mavi takes Niccolò to a dinner party given by some of her wealthy friends. Niccolò finds the aristo crowd cold and cliquish. Mavi makes the rounds talking to her friends, including a beautiful young blonde woman. Niccolò grows suspicious of Mavi, believing she knows the identity of her mysterious suitor. Mavi assures him that she is no longer with this crowd, and that she is now with him. Later she reveals that the man she met on the stairs at Dandini’s was a “family friend” who she recently discovered was her father. With tears in her eyes, she recounts how she avoided him for years not knowing who he was, and all the time he was unable to show his love to his daughter.