I've now seen two Fellini films more than once - 8 1/2 and La Dolce vita - and they've both had the same, striking effect on me. It's an experience that, for me, has been unique to Fellini's work and these two films in particular. The best single word I would use to describe it would be intoxicating, but it's so much more than that. Both of these films run over two hours in length (8 1/2 clocks in at 138 minutes, and La Dolce vita is a monstrous 174), but they both feel like 80 or 90 minute walks in the park. They both left me with a burning desire to rewatch them the next morning, something that rarely happens with films that are as emotionally draining as these two - which brings me to my next topic - the emotional weight these films carry is simply devastating, and in my experience, unmatched.

They are both about virtually the same thing - a man (portrayed by Fellini stand-in Marcello Mastroianni, who has quickly become one of my all time favorite actors) at a cross roads in his life where he feels empty and is longing for something, anything to make him feel alive again. In both films, he attempts to find solace in the beds of various beautiful women (I still stand by my claim that Fellini's films are comprised of the most stunning women on the planet), while a woman he's in a relationship with at home suffers from a deep, unconditional and ultimately unrequited love, sinks into a terrible depression. Again, in both films, Mastroianni finds his happiness perpetually just out of reach (is he looking for it in the wrong places, or is it simply no longer there?), and they both end on exceedingly melancholic notes, La Dolce vita especially.

I've seen thousands of films in my life, and not a single one has left me in a state like these two have. Fellini's perfectly composed and utterly beautiful mise en scene only serves to highlight the beauty and heartbreak contained in these masterpieces'. Fellini wasn't a showy filmmaker, so you have to watch his films and his camera to truly appreciate the artistry on display. While most filmmakers are content with mildly bludging you over the skull with their arty compositions (stirring string arrangment included, of course), Fellini is more subtle, and his work is better because of it.

These two titles have had such an untold amount of praise heaped upon them by virtually every member of the film community that it feels a bit trite and arduous to go through it all again, but I can't think of a pair that deserves it more. If you discount his segment on Boccacio '70, Fellini made these two films back-to-back. I can't think of a better example of an artist at the height of his creative and emotional power. These are truly two of the best films ever made.

This is something I wrote awhile back about both 8 1/2 and La Dolce vita. I wish I would have expanded on certain things further, but I think it gets my basic thoughts across fairly well.



Shack, I think you watched 8 1/2 expecting your typical, everyday film narrative. You can't watch a Fellini film like that and expect to enjoy. Rod makes an apt comparison to Lynch's work in the sense that Fellini is a very self satisfying filmmaker. He explores themes and concepts that interest him, and lets things like narrative take a back seat to his overall vision. It's something you either go with, or don't, and it's something that either connects with you, or it doesn't.

I think it definitley comes down to what you look for in a movie and filmmaking. Evidently you are a huge fan of style and the way films are created. I personally can only care for style as a background complementing factor to plot, story, characters, humor, emotional factor, etc.,