Italian actress Léa Massari, renowned for her roles in European cinema classics such as L’Avventura, Les choses de la vie and Le souffle au cœur, has died at the age of 91. A magnetic figure on both the French and Italian screens, she worked with some of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century, leaving behind a rich and influential filmography.
The Italian actress, Léa Massari, celebrated for her roles in L’Avventura and Le souffle au cœur, passed away in Rome, Italian officials confirmed on Wednesday. Lucia Borgonzoni, Italy’s Secretary of State for Culture, paid tribute to “an actress of irresistible magnetism and dazzling talent.”
According to the Roman daily Il Messaggero, Massari died on Monday in Rome, and her funeral was held Tuesday in Sutri, a town north of the Italian capital.
A familiar face in iconic films of the 1960s and 1970s, she worked extensively in both Italy and France. Comfortable in dramatic roles, she was directed by some of the greatest names in European cinema, from Sergio Leone and Claude Sautet to Francesco Rosi and Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura.
Known for her expressive and nuanced acting, Massari shared the screen with leading figures such as Yves Montand, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Gian Maria Volonté, Mel Ferrer, and Anthony Perkins. She never hesitated to accept supporting roles if the project appealed to her.
Born Anna Maria Massatani on June 30, 1933, in Rome, she rose to fame in 1960 with Antonioni’s L’Avventura, alongside Monica Vitti, a film that broke cinematic conventions with its avant-garde storytelling about a young woman’s mysterious disappearance.
The following year, she starred in Sergio Leone’s epic, Le colosse de Rhodes and Dino Risi’s Une vie difficile. In France, she appeared in L’Insoumis (1964) by Alain Cavalier opposite Alain Delon, whom she would later reunite with in Valerio Zurlini’s, Le Professeur (1972). But it was her controversial role in Louis Malle’s Le souffle au coeur (1971) portraying a mother involved in an incestuous relationship with her son that garnered her the most attention.
Often referred to as “the most French of Italian stars”, Massari became highly sought-after, starring in a string of successful films: Les choses de la vie by Claude Sautet, and La Course du lièvre by René Clément, Le silencieux by Claude Pinoteau, Le fils by Pierre Granier-Deferre, Allonsanfan by the Taviani brothers, Peur sur la ville by Henri Verneuil, and Le Christ s'est arrêté à Eboli by Francesco Rosi.
“Beautiful, modest, discreet, Léa Massari often portrayed women who felt out of place. She disappears early on in Antonioni’s L’Avventura, never to return, or suffers the trauma of incest in Malle’s Le souffle au coeur. Disappearing while leaving a trace,” said Gilles Jacob, former president of the Cannes Film Festival, in a statement to AFP.
With AFP
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