La Dolce Vita(1960)

alexlimberg

9/10

There's not many movies that you watch and immediately realize that you never will be as elegant, as charming, as cool, as loved by the ladies, as bohemian as this man. Like this man in the first half of the movie I must add. Perhaps you'll not even reach average Italian men's standard. Perhaps you'll never even own such a suit or such sunglasses (and unlike him you'll look silly wearing them at night) or such a car. And you'll never have a job that predominantly seems to consist of sipping drinks in Rome's exotic nightlife. He doesn't seem to be particularly happy though. The more the movie progresses, the more bohemian he becomes, the less likeable this man and the whole concept of *dolce far niente* becomes. What a relief that I'm not like him! It's an iconic movie. Full of iconic scenes. Impeccable cinematography. Great locations. Rome is such a great location. Italians are such joyful, lively, emotional and dramatic people. Hard to say what this movie is actually about. It certainly doesn't have a traditional plot, but that's what makes this movie special. It's more like an existential novel or a sociology study consisting of several more or less connected episodes. Not sure if anyone would finance such a movie today. But the sometimes disorientating and fragmented storyline, mirrors what he has become. PS: The movie coined the word *paparazzi*. I knew that before. But I was surprised where the word actually comes from.

Valentin Reutter

0/10

Because I have been requested to do so, this is my in-depth breakdown of La Dolce Vita: The first night shows us Marcello and Maddalena leaving a party out of boredom. They drive around and pick up a woman, taking her back to her apartment. A lower-class house. Maddalena asks to be invited in for coffee. The two sleep together as they seem to find the situation exciting. In complete disregard of the poverty that surrounds them. The rich are bored and the poor have to tolerate them in hope for money. The famous have no privacy left, and the nonfamous crave for their dirty secrets. Marcello is at the center of it all. The first day starts with Marcello discovering his fiancés Emma's potential suicide attempt. In the hospital, he makes sure she is okay, but then leaves to witness the arrival of Swedish actress Sylvia. Later, he phones Emma, but has to swear that he is not alone with Sylvia. The actress is bombarded by questions. Later, the reporters and Sylvia climb the stairs of the St. Peter's dome, followed by Marcello. Soon the men are exhausted and Sylvia seems to easily have outpaced them. Marcello arrives after her on top. He's breathing heavily, while Sylvia is showing no sign of exertion. Emma, a woman at home, alone, lifeless, even close to death. Marcello says he cares for her, but actually, he is drawn to Sylvia. A seductive woman who is bursting with life. The second night begins with Marcello and Sylvia dancing. He is talking to her in Italian, completely idealizing her beauty and womanhood. A friend of Sylvia arrives, shaking up the party, and with his energy draws Sylvia to him, away from Marcello. The music gets livelier, and the people follow Sylvia in a sort of parade. Her fiancé Robert, who seems too regularly drink heavily, appears to be jealous, but does not act on it. Marcello seems to be jealous as well, as he was unable to keep Sylvia engaged with him. Both men long for Sylvia's beauty, but she appears to be just too full of life for them to satisfy her. As Sylvia finally takes a break, sitting next to Robert, they start to argue and she storms off. Marcello follows and then drives her away. They wander through the night in Rome, Sylvia keeping Marcello busy. He eventually finds her wading in the Trevi fountain and joins, after being asked. Sylvia being portrayed as the woman that no man can hold, but still chases. An impossible endeavor. Yet, Sylvia mentioning more profound values during their car drive. She seems to long for a deeper connection. Feeling tired of the usual man. But Marcello, not understanding her language. Men not understanding women. So Sylvia entering the fountain seems to be her having maybe given up on the thought and falling back into the life of lust. The third day shows Marcello returning Sylvia to her home, while Robert is photographed sleeping in his car by Paparazzo and his colleagues. The photographers wake up Robert, who sees the two together, slaps Sylvia, goes up to Marcello and hits him as well. Later, Marcello meets his friend Steiner in the church, and they talk about books. Steiner then plays the organ, Marcello listens, seemingly moved. Thereafter, Marcello, Emma, and Paparazzo drive outside of Rome for them to cover a story about an apparent Madonna sighting by two children. A massive crowd has gathered, some of them protesting. Emma talks to some people, showing empathy. While Marcello goes about his business, seeming unaffected. Again, there are obvious contrasts. From Marcello playing a seductive game with Sylvia while both being engaged to other people, to visiting the church and talking about highly intellectual topics. And then the emotional bystanders in opposition to the methodical reporters. The third night starts with a crowd gathering around a small tree, where soon the two children appear, praying. They then start running after something invisible, the Madonna, as they claim. In the background, Emma is praying for Marcello to love her. While Marcello is spectating the event from a place above. Once the children leave, a woman starts running towards the tree and ripping out branches. Others, and Emma as well, join in. In the rain, Marcello pulls Emma away while she shouts at him in desperate anger. At dawn, the two witness a child who has been brought to the event by her mother in hope of heeling, but ended up being trampled by the crowd. What comes to my mind is the factual versus the spiritual. As before, the regular folk acts emotional, irrational. But the reporters and cameramen just chase to document every little detail. The fourth night is all about art. As Emma and Marcello arrive at a party with friends that Steiner is hosting. They engage in discussion on women, poetry, music, children. Highlighting the art in these things. But at the end, Marcello seems unhappy. Even ignoring his wife. He starts to reflect on his choices. Like great art, life needs to be more than entertainment. The fifth day begins with Marcello angrily ending a telephone call, stating he does not want to be disturbed. Being alone in a restaurant at the seaside, he is typing for his novel, but is soon interrupted by a young girl working there and singing. He starts a conversation with her, mentioning her beauty. Eventually, he does not manage to continue writing and lets the girl carry on her music. He then decides to call Emma. On the fifth night, Marcello meets his father. They decide to visit a club where he introduces his dad to Fanny, a dancer he knows. She joins their table and his dad grows a liking to her. They dance while Marcello is telling Paparazzo about his childhood and how remembers his father never being home and his mother sad about it. He realizes he is a lot like his father. They then all leave, but his father decides to stay with Fanny, and they drive off. Paparazzo and Marcello go with the other girls, but Marcello decides to take a walk and leaves them. Later, he is rushed by Fanny, telling him his father has gotten ill. He hurries to her apartment and finds his father sitting alone in a room. His father soon tells him he feels better and decides to leave, even though Marcello urges him to stay. The son seeing himself in his father is a revelation that shows Marcello the path he is on. Further reason to question his way of life. On the sixth night, Marcello is working with his team, but then leaves, joining a girl he knows named Nico and her friends. They drive to a castle and enter a late party. Most people are lying around, seeming tired. He there meets Maddalena again, and together they go to explore the empty rooms of the castle. Maddalena lets Marcello stay in a vast room and sneaks away to another, from which she can speak to him via an echo chamber. She asks Marcello to marry her and states her love for him. He avoids the proposal, but says he loves her too. Maddalena tells him could never be his wife and feels like a whore. Marcello argues against her belief, but then a man enters Maddalena's room, and they start to fool around. Marcello, getting no response from Maddalena anymore, starts to search for her. He encounters the group of people from the party as they are on their way to visit the ruins. He joins them since he was unable to find Maddalena. Some group members participate in a seance, but Marcello eventually leaves with a woman named Jane and spends the night with her. Both Maddalena and Marcello seem to be unable to be faithful. Not fitted for a single partner. Or maybe afraid of it. Either way, even though the two appear to love each other, there appears to be no future for them together. The morning of the sixth day, the party members follow a priest. The three sons of the family leave the group to join the mass. The others stay out of the church. The seventh night shows us Emma and Marcello in his sports car on an empty road. They have an argument about their difference in love. As Emma loves Marcello and points out to him that there will never be another woman who loves him like she does. But Marcello is enraged about it, saying he does not want her motherly love. He tells her to get out of the car, but since she refuses, he throws her out and drives away. The difference in expectations towards love between Marcello and Emma is interesting. Emma being faithful and focusing her affection on one person seems to be in conflict with Marcello's idea of it. I suspect he longs for the more outburst, exciting, adventure kind. But at dawn of the eight day, he silently returns and picks up Emma again. So he himself seems to be confused about what he wants and actually needs. They then spend the morning in bed together, but suddenly Marcello receives a phone call. He rushes to his friend Steiner's apartment, where many reporters have already gathered, and the police restricted the entry. Marcello is let in and finds his friend has committed suicide, as well as killed his two little children. He starts feeling sick and has to step outside. Marcello joins the police as they pick up Steiner's wife to bring her the tragic news. The surrounding photographers, even though they have been requested to not intrude this time, still don't shy away. For them, even bad news is good news. The eight night and some time later, Marcello has fallen back into old habits. He and a group of partygoers break into a beach house owned by Riccardo, a friend of his. Marcello states he has abandoned literature and become a publicity agent. Nadia, who has recently been divorced from Riccardo, performs a striptease. Riccardo shows up and orders them to leave. But the drunken Marcello attempts to keep the party going and causes trouble. He makes a young woman crawling and letting him ride on her back. He throws feathers around. Finally, dawn arrives and Riccardo orders them once again to leave. On the morning of the ninth day, the partygoers dance out of the house while Marcello is throwing feathers up. The people proceed to the beach, where they encounter fishers having caught a big sea creature. Marcello wanders off and sees a girl, Paola, the waitress from the beach restaurant, waving across the river. She tries to communicate, but he does not understand. He then turns away with another woman, following the rest of the partygoers. The girl smiling into the camera. The ending is in direct contrast to the beginning of La Dolce Vita. Initially, Marcello was in the air on a helicopter which carried the statue of Christ. Flying over a roof where he tries to communicate with a couple of woman that are unable to hear him due to the helicopter noise. In the end, he is at the sea, next to a water monster. Not being able to understand Paola, which he described as looking angel-like when he first me her. La Dolce Vita shows Marcello's downward spiral into a superficial celebrity life. Now that should sum up the big picture. There are definitely details that can be interpreted more in-depth, but I would say that this rewatch has been richer than my first experience with this film. That being mostly because I turned on my analytical approach. Yet, even though this has been more worthwhile, I still do not care for this film. The best part for me has been by far the fifth night. One problem I have with La Dolce Vita is the focus on “What it means” rather than “What it feels like”. The film explores its themes brilliantly and is rich if one wants to study it. But it rarely provoked emotion in me. Actually, only in the part I mentioned with Marcello's father. That, and maybe his reaction towards Steiner's suicide, were the only times when I felt like the film trying to show me “how it feels”. But most of the time I was just trying to make sense out of the scenes presented. As the great Robert Bresson said once: I'd rather people feel a film before understanding it. I'd rather feelings arise before intellect.That is my main criticism of this film. And the reason why, even though it is shallow, I prefer Spring Breakers lol.

37poop

0/10

I get it. But, much like my feelings towards 8½ and its 130 minute exploration of the artistic anxieties clawing at an enormously successful, world-renowned filmmaker: _I just don't care._

JPV852

0/10

I'll probably be crucified especially given my username and how many love this film, but I found this to be insufferable, borderline pretentious aimless drama (which I generally don't mind, see Lost in Translation, which briefly had a scene from this film) featuring a repugnant main character. Worse, it's nearly 3 hours long. I get what Fellini was going for within the first 35-minutes so I had to sit through the remainder 2+ hours. I kind of really hated this with the only positive thing to say it was shot well and great locations but this is one I will never revisit. **1.5/5**