|
| 8 1/2 |
|
 (10/10)
|
Runtime: 135 |
| Public Rating: 9.79 (14 votes) |
Director: Federico Fellini |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Comedy/Drama |
Year: 1963 |
| Writer(s): Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rond |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Vadim Rizov |
| |
Magnificent. Fellini's film is the ultimate argument that, sometimes, self-absorbtion is not necessarily a bad condition for an artist to remain in. This is the famous turning point in his career: when semi-realist Fellini (whose movies had stayed more or less grounded in everyday life) suddenly took off in a sudden fit of interest in himself, and never recovered, allegedly plunging into self-indulgent films which, with few exceptions, were frustrating and uninteresting to the uninitiated and impatient. Makes 8 1/2 look downright accessible which, for the patient viewer, it patently is. Fellini's on-screen director alter-ego is named Guido, and is played by Marcello Mastroianni, his frequent collaborator. Guido has to rest up, according to his doctor; he also needs to write the script for his new movie, which is going to begin shooting any day now; unfortunately, he doesn't have any ideas. Then there's the press, which refuses to leave him alone and hangs on to his every word (one overly-earnest reporter asks, "Is there a god?" Guido crawls under the table).
There's been so much written about this movie that it seems pointless for an amateur to tackle the job. I would, however, like to point out something: this is my first Fellini movie. I haven't seen any others yet; all I know about his work is based on hearsay and clips. But this movie seems like a perfectly logical outgrowth of his previous work, from the gradually emerging themes of his work (clowns, troubled relationships, etc.) and the growing surrealism that permeated La Dolce Vita. Although I don't think anybody knew quite what was going to happen next, it must have been pretty obvious that Fellini was becoming more and more experimental. What makes this work unique is not necessarily the disjointed, dream-like state, but the fact that the movie represents nothing more than Fellini looking at himself looking at himself. It all sounds terribly pretentious, but it's not.
What it is is a comedy. Guido, constantly at odds with his surroundings and others, does manage to achieve a state of grace by the end of the movie (althought, some critics have suggested, merely an illusory one), but only after going through numerous comic incidents that, to some degree, are all handled a bit unrealistically, to allow the viewer the same god-like distance Fellini gets. It's the story of Fellini's life (his childhood, first encounter with a prostitute, Catholic hangups, etc.) as related through his dreams, which were where his scripts came from (hence the surreal and hilarious shots that occasionally are miniature movies in themselves, such as Guiido waiting for his mineral water). If that doesn't sound very funny, just trust me on this.
I could write more, but why? Fellini speaks for himself in this movie. It, in itself, has everything you need to know; what you come up with, due to the nature of the film, will be as good as anything else anybody will tell you. The ultimate meaning and tone of the film (if there is one) is, to a certain degree, up for debate. So I can quit writing now; just go watch it
|
 Printable Version
|
Do you agree/disagree with this review of 8 1/2? Let your opinions be heard in our forum.
|
Buy the Poster of 8 1/2 (Click Here)
|
|
|
|
