Zabriskie Point (film)

Zabriskie Point is a 1970 American drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. It is notable for its counterculture themes, its use of psychedelic imagery, and its soundtrack featuring artists such as Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, and The Youngbloods.

The film centers on Mark, a disillusioned college student who becomes caught up in a student protest that ends in the shooting of a police officer (though Mark denies involvement). Fearing arrest, he steals a small private plane and flies to Death Valley. There he encounters Daria, a young woman on her way to Phoenix to meet with a land developer. They share a brief and intense connection in the desert, culminating in a surreal, orgiastic fantasy sequence.

Mark eventually returns the plane to Phoenix, where he is killed by police. Daria learns of his death and imagines the destruction of the opulent home of her employer and other symbols of American consumerism in a slow-motion sequence.

Zabriskie Point was filmed on location in Death Valley National Park and other locations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. It was Antonioni's second English-language film, following Blowup (1966). Despite its prominent soundtrack and strong visual style, Zabriskie Point was not a commercial success upon its initial release and received mixed reviews from critics. However, it has since gained a cult following and is considered a significant, if controversial, representation of the social and political climate of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States. The film explores themes of student activism, anti-establishment sentiment, social alienation, and the clash between counterculture ideals and mainstream American society.