Rewind Film: 'La Dolce Vita, directed by Federico Fellini
Americans might harp on about freedom and the French have their je ne sais quoi, but few people take greater pride in their insatiable lust for life than the Italians.
Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee
Federico Fellini
Americans might harp on about freedom and the French have their , but few people take greater pride in their insatiable lust for life than the Italians. The Roman Empire came and went and the Renaissance died out, but Italy saw a smaller resurgence during the heady days of the swinging sixties.
The film has a simplistic, almost haphazard structure, set roughly over seven days in the life of gossip columnist Marcello. He's a handsome but tired man, longing for literary greatness, but often stuck in a series of decadent nights and regretful dawns, covering what the public deems as "the sweet life": movie stars, playboys and people famous for being famous.
Through haughty intellectuals, wild Hollywood starlets and sex-obsessed aristocrats, Fellini is saying something about this "sweet" way of life, but what exactly? More than 50 years after it put Italy on the international film map, is still being debated.
Is it a depiction of Fellini's own self-indulgent lifestyle? A balanced look at sin and salvation? A Christian nightmare of what's wrong with society? Or a parody of celebrity culture and post-war excess?
That brilliant opening aerial shot of the Eternal City, contrasted by speedy rides through the streets on the back of a Vespa. A late-night splash in the Trevi Fountain (above), and the early morning fishermen surprised by their morning catch.
The next time you're in Rome, wondering why the shops close for hours in the middle of the day, waiting for a bus that never meets its schedule or dodging fake gladiators desperate for five euros, do like Marcello. Stop worrying about meaning, order a caffe and take in the sweet life the way the Italians do.
