There's a wealth of things to comment on but I'm sure most of them are already covered. So I'll mention the few that struck me most.
One is the narrative perspective. Up until mid-third act, I thought this was Gelsomina's story. But then comes Zampano's abandonment. To be in keeping with the film to point, Fellini would have had her fall asleep and wake to find money in her hand and the trumpet by her side. Instead we see it from Zampano's perspective, and after he abandons her the story is firmly his.
With this in mind, the movie shifts from a story about either Gelsomina or Zampano, and becomes a narrative tracing the path of loneliness. It attaches to and follows each character for a time until exhausting that soul, killing it, and moving on. Much like the nuns who move from convent to convent avoiding attachment to worldly things; Zampano avoids this too, and leaves a trail of spiritual debris in his wake.
The film is nicely framed by three encounters on the beach, each representing the narrative shift -- Gelsomina; then Gelsomina and Zampano; and finally Zampano alone. Every pebble has a purpose. But if enough time (seawater) passes over the pebble it will be crushed, lose its identity and its meaning. In the end he is crying, clutching the pebble's waste.
One is the narrative perspective. Up until mid-third act, I thought this was Gelsomina's story. But then comes Zampano's abandonment. To be in keeping with the film to point, Fellini would have had her fall asleep and wake to find money in her hand and the trumpet by her side. Instead we see it from Zampano's perspective, and after he abandons her the story is firmly his.
With this in mind, the movie shifts from a story about either Gelsomina or Zampano, and becomes a narrative tracing the path of loneliness. It attaches to and follows each character for a time until exhausting that soul, killing it, and moving on. Much like the nuns who move from convent to convent avoiding attachment to worldly things; Zampano avoids this too, and leaves a trail of spiritual debris in his wake.
The film is nicely framed by three encounters on the beach, each representing the narrative shift -- Gelsomina; then Gelsomina and Zampano; and finally Zampano alone. Every pebble has a purpose. But if enough time (seawater) passes over the pebble it will be crushed, lose its identity and its meaning. In the end he is crying, clutching the pebble's waste.