Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
"Giulietta degli spiriti" (original title)

Visions, memories, and mysticism all help a 40-something woman to find the strength to leave her cheating husband.

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story), Tullio Pinelli (story),

Stars:

Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Giulietta Masina	...	Giulietta Boldrini
Sandra Milo	...	Suzy / Iris / Fanny
Mario Pisu	...	Giorgio (Giulietta's husband)
Valentina Cortese	...	Valentina
Valeska Gert	...	Pijma
José Luis de Vilallonga	...	Giorgio's friend (as José De Villalonga)
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Medium (as Fredrich Ledebur)
Caterina Boratto	...	Giulietta's mother
Lou Gilbert	...	Grandfather
Luisa Della Noce	...	Adele
Silvana Jachino	...	Dolores
Milena Vukotic	...	Elisabetta - the maid
Fred Williams	...	Lynx-Eyes' agent
Dany París	...	Desperate friend
Anne Francine	...	Psychodramatist

Storyline

Juliet lives in a beautiful house by the ocean. Her sisters, and especially her Mother overshadow her with their beauty. She is a spiritual, superstitious and naive woman. She visits a psychic seer who tells her she must follow the sex trade in order to be happy. Not long after she meets her eccentric and sexy neighbour, Suzy, who, by all counts appears to be a high class prostitute and encourages Juilet into sexual acts which make her guilty and nervous. A rare night when her husband is at home she wakes up to catch him talking to another woman on the phone. He calls out the name "Gabriella" while sleeping, but when she questions him he lies his way out of it. She finds out who Gabriella is and fears her husband will leave her. Juliet begins having visions who accuse and terrorize her. The pinnacle of the visions comes at the end where it is implied she realizes she would be better off without her husband and is ultimately emotionally emancipated.

---

Plot Keywords:

vision | eccentric | sex | memory | psychic | 

---

Taglines:

Fellini's Masterpiece !

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian French

Release Date:

3 November 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Juliet of the Spirits

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,524 (USA) (15 June 2001)

Gross:

$78,550 (USA) (3 August 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rizzoli Film, Francoriz Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Federico Fellini's first full-color feature.

---

Quotes

Giulietta Boldrini: I don't care about the clemency you offer me but the salvation of my soul.

---

Connections

Version of Alice in Wonderland - De Musical (2011)

User Reviews

Fellini's deepest dreams

Juliet of the Spirits has become one of my favorite Fellini films. The story involves a woman who discovers that her husband is cheating on her. The forces of family, tradition, the church, and an immoral society all pull at her and force her to make a difficult decision. These forces would be banal in a standard film but Fellini chooses to visualize them as images and dreams. The dream sequences are nearly perfect and create a sharp sense of the hazy logic and unreality of dreams. Other comments (as well as our friend Maltin) have noted that the symbolic nature of the film is a detriment. This is true only if you are constrained by reality and demand that film adhere to the rules you have set down (or more likely had set down for you). Taking the journey with this film is well worth the time and effort. I hesitate to state that a male director has successfully penetrated the inner desires of a woman, but in this case I think Fellini has at least come close to the mark. A film to be looked at, talked about, and enjoyed again and again.