The last time I saw this was at a repertory screening, which is probably the best way to experience it. Not just for the richness of Fellini’s images, but because the inability to pause and take a break means the viewer is left just as exhausted of “the sweet life” as Marcello is by the end.
This was my first Fellini, and it was love at first sight. I got sucked in by everything, especially the Trevi Fountain sequence, but all that Marcello was doing and thought he was - desperate to impress, be seen, feel important, and chase those fleeting highs. I can't say I did it nearly as successfully with as much gusto as he did, but how many can? The sequence where he spends time with his intellectual friend, whose wife is later seen in that scene where she's about to get the terrible news referenced above, is the one time he isn't indulging pure libido but instead pure narcissistic pretentiousness... and I felt seen there, too.
The Trevi Fountain was a Final Jeopardy! question this week and while I couldn't remember the exact name, I could only shout "the fountain from La Dolce Vita!" Just an all timer.
The last time I saw this was at a repertory screening, which is probably the best way to experience it. Not just for the richness of Fellini’s images, but because the inability to pause and take a break means the viewer is left just as exhausted of “the sweet life” as Marcello is by the end.
This was my first Fellini, and it was love at first sight. I got sucked in by everything, especially the Trevi Fountain sequence, but all that Marcello was doing and thought he was - desperate to impress, be seen, feel important, and chase those fleeting highs. I can't say I did it nearly as successfully with as much gusto as he did, but how many can? The sequence where he spends time with his intellectual friend, whose wife is later seen in that scene where she's about to get the terrible news referenced above, is the one time he isn't indulging pure libido but instead pure narcissistic pretentiousness... and I felt seen there, too.
The Trevi Fountain was a Final Jeopardy! question this week and while I couldn't remember the exact name, I could only shout "the fountain from La Dolce Vita!" Just an all timer.