156 - La Dolce Vita, 1960, Italy. Dir. Federico Fellini.

Monday, June 5, 2017

156 - La Dolce Vita, 1960, Italy. Dir. Federico Fellini.

Paparazzo is a member of the paparazzi.

Of course he is.  They were named after him.

Paparazzo is a photographer who runs around with Marcello.

Marcello is a "journalist" who works for a celebrity gossip magazine.

We never actually see him doing any journalism.  He simply shows up and watches the photographers photograph celebrities.

Then he hangs out with the celebrities they photograph.

He gets to live the sweet life with the celebrities he follows.

So he himself is sometimes the object of celebrity gossip.

Including the subject of photographs taken by his own friend Paparazzo.

It is a small price to pay for the opportunity to live the sweet life.

La Dolce Vita follows one week in Marcello's sweet life.

He flies in a helicopter following a helicopter carrying a statue of Jesus.

And he takes the time to fly lower to ask for the phone numbers of some women sunbathing on the roof of an apartment building.

And to take the rich socialite Maddalena from the club to the prostitute's flooded basement for their own use while she makes them coffee.

And to hook up with the Swedish-American movie star Sylvia, climbing the stairs in the dome of Saint Peter's, dancing at the baths of Caracalla, and wading in the Trevi Fountain.

He takes her away from her fiancé Robert.

His own fiancée Emma has tried to commit suicide over his philandering, and he has taken her to the hospital to get help.

Marcello, Paparazzo, and Emma drive his Vespa to the countryside where some children say they have seen the Virgin Mary.  The crowds are gathered, and mayhem is happening.

He spends a night on the town with his father.  They run into Fanny, one of his former flings.

He spends time with his friend and hero Steiner, at a church and at a salon in Steiner's home

He goes to a beach party with his friends, including Nico, later of The Velvet Underground.

Marcello continues to party with rich and famous people.  Things happen that surprise and shock him.  His life seems empty.

The sweet life is sour.

La Dolce Vita is a masterpiece.  With every frame a Fellini.

The film is steadily paced and takes its time.  Over the course of three hours, we follow all seven days in Marcello's week.

Each day's story works as a short film unto itself.

Each moment is beautifully staged and beautifully framed.

The actors are fantastic in their roles.

Watching it, you feel that something special is going on.  Something magical.   You are in the hands of a master at the top of his game.

The music is vital.  Both the score and the songs.

The performances at the clubs are their own entertainment.

Many of the set pieces and individual images have become classics.

To see Jesus coming in the clouds--as a statue carried by a helicopter over the ruins of ancient pagan Rome, over the construction of new highrise urban apartments, over the Vatican itself.

To see the stars wading in the Trevi fountain.

And the look of those great cars.

This is a movie to see over and over again.