Antonioni’s Blow-Up depicts Black, South Asian, queer, & working-class people; anti-nuclear activists; and mimes(!) on the fringes of 1960s’ “Swinging London.” At the centre of it all is David Hemmings’ Thomas, an unsympathetic, chauvinistic photographer who glibly ‘probes’ his subjects with his camera lens, exploiting whoever he sees fit for his art.
The film is slick and stylish, but I maintain that mods are inherently cringe and Thomas is an insufferable prick. It’s difficult to stomach, but I did find its…
