Despite the film 's eventual lionization by film scholars , the film received a harsh reception at its opening at the Cannes Film Festival in May . It is one of the festival 's most notorious reactions . According to Vitti , " the screening of Cannes was a real-life drama . " From the opening titles , despite the film 's serious tone , laughs erupted in a dark theater packed with critics and photographers . Laughs continued through the runtime , joined by boos . Gene Youngblood has stated that audience members usually booed during long sequences where nothing happened to further the film 's plot , but has asserted that " quite a lot is happening in these scenes . " Antonioni and Vitti , who claimed she was sobbing , fled the theater
Cannes Film Festival
1960 Cannes Film Festival
L'Avventura