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Federico Fellini bombards the viewer with one surreal composition after the next in this relentlessly acerbic look at a modern day Decline of the Roman Empire. Dark, cynical, comic and lengthy (nearly 3 hours) maestro Fellini perhaps asks too much of the audience to hang with such an unctuous crowd for so long but his impeccable display of film language and imagery over the course of the film has more than enough visual awe to supplant the constant presence of indecorous bores. In La Dolce Vita we follow hack reporter Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) who makes his living prowling the via Veneto seeking out gossip and scandal. Sometimes a small coterie of photogs follow him like vultures in search of disaster to pick over the victims. It's an unseemly business but it pays the bills for Marcello who once harbored higher aspirations as a writer. When he meets with a former mentor (Alain Cuny) his desire to be a serious writer becomes re-kindled if only briefly.As Marcello, Mastroianni is slimily outstanding as he snakes about for gossip and tomcat's non-stop, even after his live in attempts suicide. Still he manages to convey a good deal of his own vulnerability making a fool of himself twice while professing his love for a vivacious (Anita Ekberg) Hollywood star in The Trevi Fountain and to a wealthy nymphomaniac that was easily distracted. Misogynistic, abusive, corrupt; albeit with a brief tender familial attachment to his visiting father (Annabille Ninchi), his self hating surrender to the"sweet" life during the film's powerful finale makes no attempt to exonerate but it does allow for a moment's sympathy. La Dolce Vita's episodic structure covers a lot of ground as Fellini eviserates among others, decadent aristocracy, bloodsucking media, church, intellectual pomposity, commercialism and nostalgia for Fascism. Achieving it by way of minimal dialogue, clever juxtaposing and devastating caricature the film offers up as many bravura visuals as you will find in any of his other works. The problem is our hero is a heel and the crowd he runs with an unpleasant self absorbed lot one would have trouble spending ten minutes with, never mind three hours. La Dolce Vita is however a breathtaking ordeal.
Vonia
La Dolce Vita (1960) Glitz, glamour. Alakazam. A gorgeous opening scene; a helicopter flying over Italy with a statue of Christ. A great vantage overlooking the Vatican from St Peter's dome. A heavenly escape to Italy's Trevi Fountain. Nightclubs, parties, beaches, forests. A religious retreat that ends in tragedy. A lavish soirée in a stately abandoned castle. A sudden turn to the serious with Steiner's murder of his children and suicide. More drinking. More partying. More socializing. Celebrities, models, prostitutes, and the best thing that came from this film- the word paparazzi (named after Marcello's most disrespectful, vexing photographer friend, Paparazzo). Favorite scene is not the obvious opening one, nor the night that Sylvia, followed by Marcello, wade through the Trevi Fountain. It was the trumpet player and his floating follower balloons at the Cha-Cha. Alright. Followed very closely by Maddalena's coquettish marriage proposal. I mean, it was via an echo chamber in a castle that could have been an art museum. How much more romantic can we get? (That is, until Fellini popped that bubble for us, with another man appearing out of nowhere to kiss her) Favorite character was Steiner. Erudite, insightful, sensitive, and real. Of course, in some of the most emotionally captivating shots, we see the tragic results of his suicide as he sits, bloody and forlorn, hunched over in his living room. Of course, geniuses are often the most unfortunate with mental afflictions. Some of his wisdom: "Don't be like me. Salvation doesn't lie within four walls. I'm too serious to be a dilettante and too much a dabbler to be a professional. Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected." "Sometimes at night the darkness and silence weigh upon me. Peace frightens me; perhaps I fear it most of all. I feel it is only a facade. I think, 'What is in store for my children tomorrow?' 'The world will be wonderful', they say. But from whose viewpoint? When one phone call could announce the end of everything? We need to live in a state of suspended animation like a work of art, in a state of enchantment. We have to succeed in loving so greatly that we live outside time, detached." Marcello is not a very likable man, and most of the characters are not only pretentious but fake. That is what is at the heart of this film, after all. An examination of the lengths we all go to present ourselves in a positive light to others. As a psychological character study, this film has its strengths. A lot going on. Supposedly, we have seven episodes, representing seven deadly sins, seven sacraments, seven virtues, seven days of creation. The seven principal episodes are as follows (via Wikipedia): 1. Marcello's evening with the heiress Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) 2. His long, frustrating night with the American actress Sylvia (Anita Ekberg) that ends in the Trevi fountain at dawn 3. His reunion with the intellectual Steiner (Alain Cuny); their relationship is divided into three sequences spread over the entire film: a) the encounter, b) Steiner's party, and c) Steiner's tragedy, 4. The fake miracle, 5. His father's visit/Steiner's Party 6. The aristocrat's party/Steiner's tragedy, 7. The "orgy" at the beach. Some liked the episodic structure; I found it made for a very confusing, formless storytelling. It is telling that the best parts of the film are also when the least is going on. His moments with Steiner, when Marcello becomes honest with himself and his friend, examining where he is in life and how he truly feels about it; and then when he is forced to at least momentarily cease the partying and women to face the facts of his unexpected murder suicide. The other scenes where this film is at its best are those between Marcello and his father. We are saddened to see his discouragement at the distance between father and son, cheer to witness them reconnect for the night, and despair ourselves as we watch despair surface on his face as his father rides away into the night, seemingly abandoning him on the dark, empty street. During an interview, Sylvia says, "I like lots of things. But there are three things I like most. Love, love and love." That reflects this film well. An excessive film about excess. Many great scenes. Many not so great scenes. The listlessness of the famous. The pettiness of the rich. The ridiculousness of the religious. The iniquities of the everyday man. 3 hours long, 106 characters. Fellini could have had a real winner here, had he only not been so greedy. Ironically, that doubles as the moral of the film from Marcello's perspective. Marcello's character is actually based on Fellini. And we have come full circle. Maybe this is a genius masterpiece after all? #FilmReview
martindonovanitaly
Great artists are like prophets whether they mean it or not. Think of H G Wells and Ray Bradbury or Paddy Chayesfski for that matter. Here Federico Fellini warns us about the disenchantment of plenty. So, at the end, this scandalous film of 1960 is a morality tale. Marcello Mastroianni is superb, a beautiful exterior with an interior that is dying, slowly but surely. The term "paparazzo" was coined in this film. The hunters of the banal grew in numbers over the years but not in scope,
Anita Ekberg became a symbol of the sixties and who was she? A fantasy, impossible to reach. Real is his wife, the splendid Yvonne Fourneaux. Real is his father, played with heart breaking resignation by Annibale Ninchi or the suicide of his close friend, the intellectual played by Alain Cuny. La Dolce Vita is almost 58 years old and I imagine that the its message, like in most art, will live forever.
