" You are the first woman on the first day of creation. You are mother, sister, lover, friend, angel, devil, earth, home. " The main character of Fellini's La Dolce Vita says this to a movie star he has become infatuated with. Some say that La Dolce Vita represents the seven deadly sins on the seven hills of Rome: seven nights of sin and seven mornings of guilt and confusion. This theory is interesting. But either way, La Dolce Vita, almost three hours long, captivates you from beginning to end.
About midway into La Dolce Vita, a character says: "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." The main character of the film envies that speaker. He sees in the speaker everything that he has ever wanted to be: secure, and yet willing to admit his faults. By saying: `Don't be like me,' the speaker only sparks more envy. This speaker is a man who knows who he is, what he wants, what he likes and dislikes, where he is going. He's a man of humility and pride, of joy and sadness. The main character is never able to achieve what this man has. In fact, he finds no answers, only confusion. He spends long nights in darkness in sin, only to re-emerge with faded hope at dawn. Throughout his career, Federico Fellini made films in which he questioned himself, to know himself, to find answers. He strove to be that speaker with the soft, confident voice. He was never able to. His films were reflections on himself, and the main character was often just a form of him.
But most of the beauty of this movie lies in the images. A sea monster lying dead and open-eyed on a beach, two people talking to each other through a well in a wall, thousands of people flocking around two children who claim to have seen the Virgin, a blonde woman bathing in the Trevi Fountain, and a helicopter flying a statue of Jesus Christ over the streets of Rome.
My grade: 9/10
About midway into La Dolce Vita, a character says: "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." The main character of the film envies that speaker. He sees in the speaker everything that he has ever wanted to be: secure, and yet willing to admit his faults. By saying: `Don't be like me,' the speaker only sparks more envy. This speaker is a man who knows who he is, what he wants, what he likes and dislikes, where he is going. He's a man of humility and pride, of joy and sadness. The main character is never able to achieve what this man has. In fact, he finds no answers, only confusion. He spends long nights in darkness in sin, only to re-emerge with faded hope at dawn. Throughout his career, Federico Fellini made films in which he questioned himself, to know himself, to find answers. He strove to be that speaker with the soft, confident voice. He was never able to. His films were reflections on himself, and the main character was often just a form of him.
But most of the beauty of this movie lies in the images. A sea monster lying dead and open-eyed on a beach, two people talking to each other through a well in a wall, thousands of people flocking around two children who claim to have seen the Virgin, a blonde woman bathing in the Trevi Fountain, and a helicopter flying a statue of Jesus Christ over the streets of Rome.
My grade: 9/10