La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life, Italian; 1961)
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This is not your typical film with a beginning, build-up, climax, resolution and ending. This Italian flick is actually a sort of a diary of a week in the life of gossip journalist @paparazzi, Marcello. It narrates day to day account of his life.
In between all that, we, the audience, are shown the decadent lifestyle of the the post WW2 1960s Italy with its outwardly religious outlook with wayward lifestyle being the order of the day. Poverty is rife amidst the lure and glorification of the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
The opening scene of the film starts with a helicopter hoisting a statue of Jesus across an effluent neighbourhood mocking the second coming. Slowly we are shown Marcello's hectic schedule. He has to put up with a possessive and obsessive fiancé who keep on demanding attention from him. He has to divide his time between the demanding job and near suicidal girlfriend. The hero is no angel either. His roving eyes seeks out one beauty after another, hoping to find that elusive love. On the first night, it was a beautiful heiress, Maddalena.
His job introduces him to an alluring bosomy Swedish-American actress, Sylvia, who visits Rome. He starts to chaperone her around after she is abandoned by her forever drunk boyfriend, fellow actor. Marcello is attracted to her physical appearance but the end of the night, he realises that it is all just tease!
The following day, it was a whole day affair for Marcello and his crew. The media people were all drawn in to an urban poor housing area by the sighting of an apparition of Mother Mary near a tree. Obviously, many are trying to benefit from the fame that it brought. Unfortunately, the stampede that ensued also trampled a child whose mother pleads for God to heal.
Marcello also has a meeting with an old friend, Steiner. He seems to be a man of philosophy, theology and sense. He is also a loving father of two beautiful kids.
Hold behold, even this man of sane mind, unexpectedly, kills himself after shooting his kids. And Marcello is at the scene trying to make sense of all these.
On another day, Marcello has a surprise visit from his father - a man whom he never knew as he was growing up. He discovers that his father is a lady's man and a lady killer too! The short visit ended with the senior having a mild heart attack and returning home.
Marcello also has literary ambitions but the lure of the high life, the parties and the girls are just too much for him to keep away. He has a final violent and abusive showdown with his unstable fiancé but in the end, they make up and make out.
This classic offering by a legendary director, Federico Fellini, is often emulated by young directors again and again. It is also mentioned in popular culture.
_coverart.jpg)
This is not your typical film with a beginning, build-up, climax, resolution and ending. This Italian flick is actually a sort of a diary of a week in the life of gossip journalist @paparazzi, Marcello. It narrates day to day account of his life.In between all that, we, the audience, are shown the decadent lifestyle of the the post WW2 1960s Italy with its outwardly religious outlook with wayward lifestyle being the order of the day. Poverty is rife amidst the lure and glorification of the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
The opening scene of the film starts with a helicopter hoisting a statue of Jesus across an effluent neighbourhood mocking the second coming. Slowly we are shown Marcello's hectic schedule. He has to put up with a possessive and obsessive fiancé who keep on demanding attention from him. He has to divide his time between the demanding job and near suicidal girlfriend. The hero is no angel either. His roving eyes seeks out one beauty after another, hoping to find that elusive love. On the first night, it was a beautiful heiress, Maddalena.
His job introduces him to an alluring bosomy Swedish-American actress, Sylvia, who visits Rome. He starts to chaperone her around after she is abandoned by her forever drunk boyfriend, fellow actor. Marcello is attracted to her physical appearance but the end of the night, he realises that it is all just tease!
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| This oft repeated classic fountain scene |
The following day, it was a whole day affair for Marcello and his crew. The media people were all drawn in to an urban poor housing area by the sighting of an apparition of Mother Mary near a tree. Obviously, many are trying to benefit from the fame that it brought. Unfortunately, the stampede that ensued also trampled a child whose mother pleads for God to heal.
Marcello also has a meeting with an old friend, Steiner. He seems to be a man of philosophy, theology and sense. He is also a loving father of two beautiful kids.
Hold behold, even this man of sane mind, unexpectedly, kills himself after shooting his kids. And Marcello is at the scene trying to make sense of all these.
On another day, Marcello has a surprise visit from his father - a man whom he never knew as he was growing up. He discovers that his father is a lady's man and a lady killer too! The short visit ended with the senior having a mild heart attack and returning home.
Marcello also has literary ambitions but the lure of the high life, the parties and the girls are just too much for him to keep away. He has a final violent and abusive showdown with his unstable fiancé but in the end, they make up and make out.
This classic offering by a legendary director, Federico Fellini, is often emulated by young directors again and again. It is also mentioned in popular culture.
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