‘8½’

Many argue 8½ is Fellini’s greatest achievement, a film within a film, a semi-autobiographical narrative of a film director, pressured by expectation of his newest work, retreating into his memories, fantasies and fears.

Surrounded by sycophants, lovers current and past as well as his wife Anouk Aimée, Marcello Mastroianni plays the director lost in the realms of dream and nightmare as his ideas and creativity struggle. Pressured by his producer, his writer for something, anything along with various actresses waiting for their promised parts, Mastroianni reflects on his life looking for inspiration.

Fellini’s last black and white feature, 8½ is a fluidity of choreographed music and image looking for a meaningful sense to life. Fantasy is interspersed with realism, selective memory with a current narrative. Oft copied in style, Fellini’s indulgent arthouse success appears dated, safe rather than surreal, dull rather than cutting edge. It may be so, but many current auteurs found inspiration from this groundbreaking 1963 feature.

Nominated for 5 Oscars in 1964 including best director, original screenplay, won 2 for best foreign language film & costume design (Piero Gherardi).

Rating: 71%

Director: Federico Fellini (Amarcord, Roma)

Writer: Federico Fellini (Amarcord, Roma), Tullio Pinelli (La dolce vita, La strada), Ennio Flaiano (Roma città libera, La dolce vita), Brunello Rondi (La dolce vita, Nights of Cabiria)

Main cast: Marcello Mastroianni (La dolce vita, Divorce – Italian Style), Anouk Aimée (Lola, Un homme et une femme), Claudia Cardinale (Once Upon a Time in the West, The Pink Panther)

‘Rocco & His Brothers’ (Rocco e i suoi fratelli)

Something of a classic from Italian auteur Luchino Visconti as the Parondi family, following the death of the patriarch, move from rural southern Italy to the industrial north and the city of Milan.

Told in a series of stanzas accorded to each brother, the grainy black and white social realism of the feature is deeply effective as Rocco (Alain Delon) confronts city life, family pressures and love for prostitute Nadia (Annie Girardot). The fact she is also the object of desire of his wayward, crime-involved brother Renato Salvatori drives a deep wedge into family life.

For the first two or so hours of this almost three hour film, Rocco & His Brothers is a gutsy, brooding slow build of a superb, character-driven feature. But, sadly, as it moves towards its inevitable confrontation, the film occasionally slips into melodramatic hysteria.

Rating: 74% (90% for the first two hours!)

Director: Luchino Visconti (Death In Venice, The Leopard)

Writer: Suso Cecchi D’Amico (Bicycle Thieves, The Leopard), Pasquale Festa Campanile (The Leopard, The Four Days of Naples), Massimo Franciosa (The Leopard, The Four Days of Naples), Enrico Medioli (The Damned, Once Upon a Time in America)

Main cast: Alain Delon (The Godson, The Leopard), Annie Girardot (The Piano Teacher, Hidden), Renato Salvatori (Z, Queimada)