This essay proposes an analysis of Blow-Up (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, based on the identification of references made throughout the film to former European colonies. We start from the assumption that such elements weave a network of meanings that are not fortuitous and establish a relationship between the cultural production of young rebels in the 1960s (the ostensible theme of the film) and the crisis of the British Empire. From this perspective, we propose a reading of the plot, particularly the characters' search for “authenticity”, as a strategy to compensate for the elision of the colonial Other.