575. AMARCORD (1973)

Running Time: 124 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra
Main Cast: Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia, Magali Noel, Ciccio Ingrassia

FELLINI WEEK: THE CONCLUSION

Well seven films later, after not really having seen any Federico Fellini films, I now feel that I've become acquainted with the director and can now understand why he receives the praise he does. I may not be one who will join in on that praise, but I definitely get it and certainly, some of his films do deserve mass amounts of praise. We finish with "Amarcord" a tame movie, especially in comparison to "Juliet of the Spirits" and "Satyricon" and one that actually delivers a small dose of charm.

Once again Fellini separates his film into different vignettes, using the same central characters to tell many different stories. The story takes place in the town of Rimini, Italy during the 1930s and the rule of Mussolini. The story focusses in on one family in particular, which consists of Titta Biondi, a young student on the verge of manhood, who does what all teenage boys do, aggravates his father and lusts over nearly every woman he comes into contact with, Titta's father, Aurelio, his mother, Miranda, his uncle and several other characters outside the family. The different stories include the escapades of Titta and his schoolmates, the coming of spring and the big bonfire celebration, the passage of the SS Rex and my favorite segment, the visit with Uncle Tio, which provides a good laugh, something uncommon in Fellini's world.

I can't say that I completely adored this movie because in fact, there are some parts that really drag and get mundane. However, those parts are usually followed by a segment that is either funny or charming or just interesting.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I'd have to say that among my least favorite segments of "Amarcord" was the arrival of the fascist federale and pretty much everything having to do with politics. I don't see why politics has to come into such a charming little movie about a town. Sure, it was a town that was affected by the rule of Mussolini and this is how Fellini himself remembers it, but surely there wouldn't be a problem with focusing in on the other aspects of growing up in Rimini. It's just a drag because you got this movie dealing with a gang of people, people we come to care about, and it would be nice to just see their day to day life told, instead of having to throw political segments into the mix. Oh well, that's just me, as I've never been one for politics, especially politics that I didn't have to live through and don't fully understand, nor do I care to.

Don't let that throw you off though, it's only a brief segment and really got more ranting from me than it deserved. The other segments of the film, for the most part, are quite good. As I mentioned above, the part with Uncle Teo is great and the segments showing the daily life for Titta and his schoolmates at school are also classic. You get the feeling that Fellini himself pulled the same pranks as the kids in the movie did, or was at least friends with the pranksters. I haven't done the research, but I have a strong feeling, that this, like many other Fellini pictures is very autobiographical. I picture Fellini as the Titta character, lusting after women, visiting the church to go to confession and not fully confessing and giving his father and teachers a hard time.

I've recently realized that I love movies that give us a distinct time frame, and in the case of "Amarcord" we're given one year, from "puffball" arrival to "puffball" arrival (in the movie the arrival of the "puffballs" indicates the ending of winter), and in that time frame, let us deal with a group of characters, see how their lives change in the course of a year, how the better themselves, or worsen themselves and allow us the time to fall in love with the characters. I can't say that I was head over heels for these particular characters, but I definitely cared about them and was interested in their story.

RATING: 6.5/10 With seven Fellini movies now in the books, it is time to move on and moving on will consist in the coming of "Hitchcocktober"!

MOVIES WATCHED: 155
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 846

A WORD ABOUT FEDERICO FELLINI

A little over a week ago, I wasn't that acquainted with Federico Fellini. I had only heard a favorite director of mine, Martin Scorsese, talk about the influence that Fellini had on his work and had always had a desire to delve into the works of Fellini, but always to afraid to try. Afraid, because I didn't want to not like his pictures, and then be faced with that question, "Well if I don't like Fellini, then what do I really know about film?" I'm happy to have gotten the opportunity to visit with seven of Fellini's works and even more happy to say that I really enjoyed some of them. He had a knack for visual imagery and left me breathless with some of the visuals that I was treated to in some of his movies. He knew how to work his camera, to always keep it moving. He knew when to pull out, be still and let the story unfold for itself and he knew when to be fast, get in their close and grab hold of the story.

I'm glad that I decided to watch all seven of the Fellini films in the "1001" book, because now I can look back on the time that I spent with Federico and look at it as a whole, compare his films and I think, talk intelligently about his films and the impact they had on me as a film watcher. Whether I liked the movie or hated, after a while I learned that going into a Fellini movie was probably not going to be a boring experience and that there was going to be SOMETHING that you liked, be it the performances that he drew for his actors, the photography that he captured with his camera or the stories that he told.

October 3, 2010 2:16pm

497. Satyricon (1969)

Running Time: 129 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Brunello Rondi, Bernardino Zapponi, from book by Petronius
Main Cast: Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born, Salvo Randone

FELLINI WEEK: 6 of 7

Well I realize that this has turned into "Fellini Weeks", but due to an overwhelming work schedule this past week, I was unable to get to the last to Fellini films before the end of September, which is what I had hoped to get accomplished. However, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to get all of Fellini's movies in the books by the end of this weekend and move on, which after a film like "Satyricon", isn't that sad of an occasion.

The film centers around the character of Encolpio (Potter), with the central plot revolving around his crumbling friendship with Ascilto (Keller) and their joint attraction with a young slave boy (Born). While the plot takes many twists and turns and throws Encolpio into several situations that always seem to spell disaster for him, he always manages to escape them and the on again, off again friendship with Ascilto is placed at center stage. That's about all I can give you in terms of plot, because honestly the story is kind of all over the place and in fact, after a bit of reading, I find that the film is intended to be broken up into twenty-five different episodes, although the "episodes" are barely noticeable.

Despite a few hitches and some bore, the movie actually, surprisingly flows along quite nicely, although many times it's hard to make heads or tails out of what the hell is going on. The visuals, much like "Juliet of the Spirits" (although not as captivating) are quite stunning. Again, I say that there are many moments in "Satyricon" where if it were possible to freeze frame the picture and print it out, the finished product would make for a beautiful wall hanging, as some of the scenes are flat out artistry at it's best and Fellini uses his camera like a brush to paint out some breath taking visions.

Be warned though kiddies, "Satyricon" contains a pretty healthy dose of nudity and it makes me wonder if Fellini was a bit of sex addict, as all of his films seem to, in some way or another, explore the sexuality of their main characters. In addition to nudity, some of the scenes are downright grotesque, with such scenes as: cows being slaughtered, a whorehouse filled with obese customers, a hermaphrodite demigod, a woman who is forced to kindle fires for villagers using her genitalia...Yeah that seems to be a good place to stop, as it doesn't get to much more off the wall or fucked up than that. "Satyricon" is a beautiful movie to watch, but when you get down to some of the scenes, filled with the previously mentioned scenes, it's almost an embarrassment to admit that you watched it and I guarantee that A LOT of people would downright hate the film. It's a film that's easy to hate and, in my opinion, very hard to praise. However, I will give it praise for being original and in the midst of such heinous imagery, there is also some gorgeous photography that deserves to be seen and admired. And sometimes even that heinous imagery is quite intriguing and really makes you want to take a swim inside Fellini's head.

RATING: 5/10 This one is a hard one to peg, but I CANNOT say that I liked it and it won't be showing up on any favorite lists, but it deserves some credit for the points that I mentioned.

MOVIES WATCHED: 154
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 847

October 2, 2010 12:34am

442. Giulietta degli spiriti/Juliet of the Spirits (1965)

Running Time: 137 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Main Cast: Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese

FELLINI WEEK: 5 of 7

WOW. That was pretty much the only word that was circling my head as "Juliet of the Spirits" concluded. It would take some more serious thought, but I don't think I've ever seen a more gorgeous film in my life. And the ironic thing is that we're dealing with such a sad and heartbreaking story, yet the beauty of this picture is absolutely mesmerizing.

The film tells the story of Juliet, a very plain housewife living in Italy. She is married to Giorgio, whom she suspects is cheating on her. She lives a very "good housekeeping" type of life, very upper class, complete with maids, a gorgeous home, the most modern and stylish of clothing, everything a housewife in the sixties could ask for. When she realizes that her suspicions about her husbands are more than suspicions, she begins to seek outside help, from clairvoyants and private investigators. Later, she becomes friendly with her neighbor, Suzy, who tries to help Juliet tap into a more sexual side of herself, and almost relinquishes her body to one of Suzy's house guests. She, however, comes to her senses at the last minute, but is visited by spirits and demons for almost letting her desires get the best of her.

It's not unbelievable with Fellini to have different interpretations to his films and this is yet another example of that. I had many different interpretations for almost everything that appeared on the screen and honestly this is the only movie that I've ever watched where I wanted to do a running commentary for it, just so I could get ALL of my opinions out in the open. Seriously though, it seems as though every scene is vital and imperative and has some sort of deep meaning, and while with most of the scenes I was able to form my own interpretations, others were up in the air, yet still visually captivating and vital to the film. Like I said above, I have never seen a more visually stunning motion picture and there were scenes that literally had me "ooohing" and "aaahing", that's how absolutely breath taking some of the imagery was in "Juliet of the Spirits".

This is also a prime example of a movie that can help you appreciate camera movement, color schemes and score. Fellini knew what he was doing with his colors and had a way of manipulating his colors into furthering his story, much like a Picasso or a Rembrandt. There were countless scenes in "Juliet of the Spirits" where if I could've freeze framed my television and hit "print", I would've hung some of the images on my walls, they were that gorgeous and captivating. This movie really scoops you up and pulls you into another world, a terrifying world that is so beautiful at the same time. It's a bit of an exhausting picture as well and in my opinion will take any viewer a few days to fully digest. The camera glides along, as though being operated by an angel, yet many of the scenes would likely make an angel weep. The score is perfect and the actors and actresses are superb, especially Sandra Milo as a high class whore and of course, Giulietta Masina, who has proved to be a very versatile little actress.

After watching some of Fellini's much lauded works: "La Dolce Vita" (which I still stand by my rating for), "8 1/2" (which would probably have a higher rating after a few days of contemplation), "La Strada" and "The Nights of Cabiria", I am absolutely dumbfounded as to why "Juliet of the Spirits" isn't one of his more lauded pictures and can only make the argument that maybe it was a little to risky for some critics to get behind. This, so far, is clearly Fellini's masterpiece and will surely be a picture that I'll cite as a Fellini favorite, no matter how good the next two are.

RATING: 10/10 Loved it! If you haven't seen it, see it and be prepared to be totally dazzled by the most awe inspiring picture you've possibly ever seen.

MOVIES WATCHED: 153
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 848

September 27, 2010 11:53pm

400. 8 1/2 (1963)

Running Time: 143 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Main Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee, Rossella Falk, Sandra Milo, Claudia Cardinale

FELLINI WEEK: 4 of 7

I do believe I had mentioned before that I saw "8 1/2" one other time, years ago and was less than impressed with it. In fact, on my previous viewing of "8 1/2" I downright hated it. This time, however, was different. I went into this picture really wanting to like it and in the end I really did. I didn't love it and still have a bit of a head scratching moment when people refer to it as "the greatest movie ever made", but at least I get their praise, instead of being completely ignorant to it.

"8 1/2" is about a film director, Guido Anselmi (Mastroianni) who is having a very difficult time getting the ideas for his latest picture in order. The picture is about his life, his loves, his escapades. To tell you the truth, this is actually a really hard movie to describe in words. It's something that you really have to experience for yourself. The book puts it well by saying, and I quote: "The story about the anguish of a director having to make a film, about an artist having to make a work, about a man having to deal with women, about a human having to face life and death". I think that statement (or series of statements) really fits "8 1/2", as the movie isn't only about a movie director trying to get his film made, but it's about a man struggling with his own life and more specifically, the loves of his life.

I'm not sure what I didn't like about "8 1/2" on the first viewing, but I can only talk about what I loved during this viewing. There's so much symbolism in the movie, and while I didn't fully understand it all, I was so intrigued and so interested and can't wait to do a little research and rewatch the film. I have high hopes that this will be a movie that grows on me, and I almost feel like I've gotten my boy scout merit badge in film appreciation, because now I think I'm finally getting the hubbub of "8 1/2".

SPOILER ALERT!

The ending was beautiful. The only thing that I could possibly compare it to is the scene in "Big Fish" where Billy Crudup is carrying his father down the riverbank and all of the people from his father's life are there to bid him a final farewell. I think this is a scene much like that. I interpret Guido under the table with the gun, as a sort of career suicide, where he has finally pulled the trigger on the creative side of himself and all of the characters of his life are coming back for one last celebration, complete with dancing and clowns playing instruments. There are so many interpretations that could be made about this film though and I could be totally wrong in my interpretation. But that's the beautiful thing about "8 1/2" is that it's a movie that is NOT straight forward and each and everyone who views it can make their own personal interpretations. I think the film forces all of us who watch it to also examine are own lives and think about all of the "characters" that shaped our life and made us the person that we are today. Oh yes...one more very deep thought: How gorgeous was Claudia Cardinale?

RATING: 6.5/10 It's still gonna' take a possible rewatch or two, but don't let the '6.5' fool 'ya, if you haven't seen "8 1/2" take a look at it, it may very well turn into your favorite movie, as it has that quality about it. While it's not my favorite, I can see why some people cite it as theirs.

MOVIES WATCHED: 152
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 849

September 26, 2010 11:54am

356. La Dolce Vita (1960)

Running Time: 167 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Main Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee, Yvonne Furneaux

FELLINI WEEK: 3 of 7

I can't say that I wasn't warned. When searching for recommendations for which Fellini movies to watch (before I decided to just watch them all), I was told to try and stay away from "La Dolce Vita", for it was one of the director's more complex films that only true Fellini fanatics would appreciate and enjoy. However, I felt that my film watching palate was refined enough that if the film was worthwhile, that I should have no problem enjoying it.

The film follows the main character of Marcello, a photo journalist, as he tries to sort out his life, his loves and his career. He's taken by several women during the course of the film, including a Swedish-American actress, Sylvia, the very wealthy Maddalena and all the while his fiance Emma waits for him at home, ready to give her undivided love to him, although he doesn't want it. He's also troubled by his career, as there is no honor in being a photo journalist and he'd rather be a more artistic writer, than a sleazy celebrity chaser. Many things happen over the course of the film and we follow Marcello through his various activities, like covering a story where some children have claimed to see the Madonna, a visit from Marcello's father and a visit to Marcello's friend Steiner.

The first impression that I get regarding Federico Fellini's work is that he had a lot of things racing through his mind. This would've been a very beautiful film, if we could've kept on the track of Marcello and his different lovers. However, the film strayed into so many different directions that it was hard for me to maintain any level of interest. The film starts out fine, Marcello meets up with Maddalena, they give a ride to a prostitute and while at the prostitute's home, they make love. Following that, Marcello arrives home to realize that Emma, his fiance has overdosed on pills and must be taken to the hospital. So far, so good. Then he meets up with Sylvia and they do their thing, going out for a night on the town and capping it off with a dance in the fountain. I'm still on board at this point.

Then we veer off into a totally different direction and a sizable chunk of the film is eaten up with Marcello covering the children claiming to see the Madonna. While I'm sure there is some significance to that scene, all that it did for me was annoy and bore me and I'm wanting to get back to focusing on Marcello's love life. Then Marcello meets up with Steiner and a big party follows at Steiner's home and we get yet another pointless scene, that eats up a major chunk of film with a lot of intellectuals yakking about God knows what. By this time, they've pretty much lost me, however, we then get a scene where Marcello's father comes to visit and this is a scene that pulled my interests back in, just a little. I thought the scene gave off the emotion of awkwardness, as Marcello was seeing his father in an entirely different way than he had ever seen him before. Then we have the entire scene where Marcello meets up with yet another girl, Nico and they go to a part and hunt for ghosts. Again, they lost my interest and this is another scene that just doesn't belong, in my opinion.

If we could've just stuck to the idea that Marcello was this unhappy guy, with an unhappy love life and an unhappy career and examined that, then we would've had the makings for some gold, because there is no denying the acting talents of the cast involved and I think that plot line and that plot line alone could have been a great film, with some great chemistry, as Mastroianni seemed to have a good deal of chemistry with all the actresses. However, we're forced into several different situations that don't deal with that plot line and thus I find it very easy to believe that this is a film that is very easy to get bored with.

I will say one last thing about Fellini. Never before have I taken a director's work and twisted it and molded it into what I thought it should have been. Usually, when I see a film and I don't like it, I leave it at that. But with Fellini, for some reason, when I watch one of his movies and don't enjoy it, I have a tendency to say "Well that was good, but this would have been better" or "Well that wasn't good at all, it should have been like this". I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, or if I just see so much potential in Fellini's films and that they could be these masterpieces, but then something is thrown in to throw them off the trail of masterpiece status. Although I did thoroughly enjoy "The Nights of Cabiria", this was definitely my least favorite Fellini to date.

RATING: 2.5/10 In good conscience, that's as high as I can go. Here's looking toward "8 1/2" and hoping it "WOWS" me.

MOVIES WATCHED: 151
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 850

September 25, 2010 5:12pm

319. Le notti di Cabiria/The Nights of Cabiria

Running Time: 118 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Main Cast: Giulietta Masina, Francois Perier, Franca Marzi

FELLINI WEEK: 2 OF 7

As I finished "Le notti di Cabiria", I was excited. Not because the film drew the emotion from me, but because I can now say that I've seen a Federico Fellini film that I really enjoyed. Not to say that I didn't enjoy "La strada", I just really liked this one and ultimately it was more up my alley.

Giulietta Masina makes an amazing transformation from her days as Gelsomina in "La strada" and proves that she really has some acting chops, as the prostitute Cabiria. Cabiria wanders the streets of Italy like a lost dog looking for an owner, but instead Cabiria is looking for love or at least someone to take care of her. She meets up with several different men over the course of the film, none of whom take advantage of her occupation, but merely use her for their needs at the time and discard her, back into the Italian underbelly. There's Alberto Lazzari, an Italian actor who uses Cabiria when his own girlfriend temporarily breaks up with him. Her other prominent suitor is Oscar, an accountant who confesses his love for Cabiria, but ultimately has selfish intentions. Unlike Masina's innocent, simple-minded Gelsomina, Cabiria is a feisty, tough, street smart woman who doesn't take shit from anybody and always has something to say and even though she gets used time and again, she always manages to pick herself back up and brush herself off.

In any of the 148 movie reviews that I've done for this blog, I've never spoiled a film. However, to get some of my points across here, I may have to delve into a little spoilage, so...

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!

I had high hopes for this one, as the plot synopsis of a hooker looking for love just sounded interesting to me and I almost had the whole film mapped out in my head before I even started it. For one thing, I was under the impression that the film took place over the course of one night and that was certainly something that could have been feasible, but ultimately I don't think it would've worked. Then I started the film and it doesn't take long for Cabiria to meet up with Alberto Lazzari and the entire segment with Alberto and Cabiria is great, flowing along really nicely, even with a bit of chemistry between the two actors, as they sit in Alberto's home and chit chat about different things. I didn't want this scene to end, as I was enjoying the interaction between Alberto and Cabiria and almost wished the film had taken on the plot of "La strada", with Alberto as the Zampano character and Cabiria as Gelsomina. She'd stay with him because she'd know that she'd never find a better or more wealthy suitor and for the brief moments when he treated her well, but in reality those moments would be few and far between, as he'd mistreat her because she wasn't his much better looking, more prominent girlfriend Jessy. That's just a thought, not what actually happened. No, instead Alberto reconciles with Jessy and Cabiria is once again back to the streets and back to searching for her next dollar or maybe, just maybe someone who can find love to give to her.

From the point where she leaves Alberto to the point where she meets Oscar drags a little and nothing of note really happens. Cabiria meets a Good Samaritan and later goes to visit the Madonna to beg for mercy, where Fellini seems to get the point across that he believes religion is no more than a money making scheme. Cabiria eventually lands in a theatre where she participates in a magician's show and is hypnotized into believing that she has finally found her true love. The magician names her lover Oscar and makes her to believe that she is finally happy, proving that Cabiria's fantasy of true love is no more than an idea or an illusion and will never be reality. Then we meet the real man named Oscar, who approaches Cabiria after the show and professes that he was deeply moved by Cabiria's words and movements during the hypnotism. He courts her for ten days before asking her to marry him and Cabiria agrees, seeing this as her opportunity at a real life. She sells her house and most of her possessions and takes a bus to meet her new husband.

The ending was perfect. Oscar, acting very quiet and suspicious, asks Cabiria to take a walk with him through the woods. You just know something is up, but I personally couldn't quite piece it together until they got to the cliff. They're walking through the woods and you can't even pay attention to the dialogue because you just know some shit is about to go down. I loved how the film basically started and ended the same way, with Cabiria's lovers basically wanting to kill her for money, proving that she is expendable in the world and that no one could ever really love her for her.

Ultimately the film ends with Cabiria walking home through the middle of a street fair and despite all the sadness that the film exudes, I really think we get a happy ending. During the street fair, with all the cheerful people dancing, singing and laughing around her, Cabiria looks directly at the camera and gives us a smile and while there is no dialogue, I'd like to think that with that one smile she's telling us; "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. I'm resilient and I'll make it." So despite it's subtlety and throwing in some of my own personal ideas, I really think we get a happy ending and why not, because the rest of the film is so damn heartbreaking.

I really hope that all makes sense, and I realize a lot of it is just rambling, but I was so excited to write about this movie that an incoherent point may have made it's way through.

RATING: 7.5/10 I really couldn't help but deduct some points for the middle, due to the fact that it just drags too much. What Fellini really needed was one more guy for Cabiria to interact with in the middle of the film and it would've been a home run.

MOVIES WATCHED: 149
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 852

September 22, 2010 1:06pm

277. La strada/The Road (1954)

Running Time: 109 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli
Main Cast: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart

ON MY JOURNEY I MET A MAN NAMED 'FELLINI'

Note: I couldn't find a trailer for "La strada", but I'm going to keep with my revised style of review. Enjoy!

The first thing that I'm going to have to realize when viewing Federico Fellini's films', is that he's just a filmmaker and that while his films are regarded as some of the best films ever made, he is simply a filmmaker. I didn't think "La strada" was terrible, in fact I liked it, but I think I would've enjoyed it much more if I didn't have this predetermined image of Fellini in my head that says "This man is the greatest and if you're going to be a film fan, then you MUST love his films." Don't worry, it will eventually work out and I'm sure I'll ultimately settle into his movies.

If I had to pick a favorite element of "La strada", I'd have to say that hands down the character development was off the charts. These were real life characters and as a viewer, I really cared what happened to him, no matter how much I liked or disliked the film itself. They were so complex and fleshed out that you really couldn't help but care about them. Zampano was the most complex, and Anthony Quinn did an amazing job portraying him. This is a character that seemed to have constant thoughts swirling through his head, despite his brute and gruff exterior. Giulietta Masina was slightly annoying as Gelsomina, the strongman Zampano's assistant. However, despite her annoying persona, this is a character that undergoes a transformation during the course of the film, starting out as an innocent, simple minded girl, just glad to be getting the opportunity to see the world and eventually developing thoughts of suicide. My favorite character would have to be "The Fool" Il Matto, who's speech on the meaning of life and how EVERYTHING (including the tiniest of pebbles) has meaning in this world, really touched me and was the turning point in the film for me. I loved the line that is delivered by Il Matto, where he compares Zampano to a dog that wants to speak, but can only bark. The ending was great, although tragic and Hollywood could take a note or two, that films don't always have to have happy endings. Sometimes just the sight of a brute man, weeping on the beach is enough, especially when a scene where there is no dialogue says so much.

I like to think that movies are great, unique, unfeasible, tragic or joyous tales that are just yearning to be told. When a movie isn't good, then it's because the story didn't have the elements to make it a "must-be-told" story and didn't deserve to have a film made about it. On the other hand, when a film is really good, it's because the tale was so fabulous and amazing that it scored big time, either on a personal level or to a mass audience. If that is true, then this is a tale that must be told, as it chronicles the journey that Gelsomina was put on when she was plucked from her poverty stricken home and taken on the road with the strongman Zampano and pushed into the public eye, bringing joy and laughter to the world as a clown. That is a great story, and can compare to any underdog story, because who knew that poor Gelsomina could make it so far in the world and touch two lives so deeply.

Maybe that last paragraph didn't make any sense or maybe it did, I don't know. But I'm sticking with it, because it sounds pretty good to me.

RATING: 6/10 Not a great movie, but not a bad one either and it makes me anxious to see more Fellini.

MOVIES WATCHED: 147
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 854

September 20, 2010 4:00pm