The Passenger

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The Passenger

PG,

1975,

1h 59m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

88%

78 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

78 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of a stranger who looks similar to him, Locke assumes the dead man's identity. However, he soon finds out that the man was an arms dealer, leading Locke into dangerous situations. Aided by a beautiful woman (Maria Schneider), Locke attempts to avoid both the police and criminals out to get him.

Critics Consensus

Antonioni's classic, a tale of lonely, estranged characters on a journey though the mysterious landscapes of identity, shimmers with beauty and uncertainty.

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David Robinson

The Times (UK)

Oct 12, 2023

It is one of those very risky pieces of virtuosity which tend inevitably to distract the mind to questions of how it's done; but it's still beautiful.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Oct 11, 2023

It is essentially an internal drama traversing a moral hinterland whose only real location is the soul. And its triumph is that, in externalising this troubled journey, the film so seldom trivialises it.

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Jan 2, 2019

4/5

The Passenger is almost a masterpiece. Almost? That's because the plot, a thrillerish tangle about swapped identity in a menacing foreign country, begs for the pen of Patricia Highsmith.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Sep 3, 2026

5/5

…as well as one of Jack Nicholson’s most underplayed, naturalistic performances, The Passenger has complex layers of meaning to unravel…Antonioni elevates this movie to art with some remarkable flourishes in a grounded, realistic narrative….

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Russell Davies

Observer (UK)

Oct 11, 2023

Nicholson is cast almost willfully against type -- the idea of existential pain actually appearing on that sharp face seems improbable from the start -- but it works far better than at first I feared.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Oct 5, 2023

The haunting drama is classic Antonioni, an existential quest for identity in an alienating world, and the cryptic plot and mysterious sense of emptiness plays even better with the remove of time.

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Albus S

Jun 15, 2017

Highly acclaimed Antonioni film has amazing cinematography, but its enigmatic tale of hopelessness and loneliness will either hypnotize you or drive you to tears of boredom.

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Draco P

May 1, 2017

I found this to be a dry, artsy fartsy film, sure to bore anyone you show it to. Beautiful looking but didn't entertain me much

Theodore L

Apr 15, 2017

Antonioni's masterpiece with incredibly astonishing performance by then a proper actor Jack Nicholson, undoubtedly one of his best performances, before he plunged into easy roles for him as an ironic and sarcastic man with mysterious smile. It's also nice to see the lovely Maria Schneider in a different from Last Tango role.

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Michelangelo Antonioni

Director

Jack Nicholson

David Locke

Maria Schneider

Girl

Jenny Runacre

Rachel Locke

Ian Hendry

Martin Knight

Steven Berkoff

Stephen

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Synopsis

David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of a stranger who looks similar to him, Locke assumes the dead man's identity. However, he soon finds out that the man was an arms dealer, leading Locke into dangerous situations. Aided by a beautiful woman (Maria Schneider), Locke attempts to avoid both the police and criminals out to get him.

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Producer: Carlo Ponti
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Les Films Concordia, Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
Rating: PG (Some Violence|Nudity|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 28, 1975, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 28, 2005
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $619.7K
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Surround

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