Everyone tells Marcelo constantly 'I feel sorry for you Marcelo' But why do they feel sorry for Marcelo? If anything they are just as equally pathetic as Marcelo and they are a similar type of character who would probably embarrass themselves just as easily. Am I not making sense? Maybe not. But I think this is the real beauty of this picture, anyone could watch it and see a different film, everyone can relate to Marcelo because we've been there most of us, the inevitable crossroads, the frustrating partner who is overly paranoid and won't let go. Then we have the Swedish beauty queen actress, who is a dazzle to watch, even she isn't perfect she has a partner who equally is paranoid and won't let go.
To not also praise this film of it's cinematography would be a sin, as there are some beautifully shot scenes, like Sylvia stepping into the fountain, like Marcelo pulling feathers from a pillow, journalists circling round a normal woman like vultures, she tells them she is not an actress so queries why they are acting like she is, nobody will tell her straight what has happened, all we know is something has happened and the press want a story and the front page photograph to go with it. All in all to summarise this film I will say it is a fantastic observation into human nature and it deserves all the credit it gets.
This is meant to be one of Fellini's best movies ever, yet I didn't really get it. It seemed far too long and by the end of it I felt as if I had missed something. Can anyone enlighten me?
Once you've fought your way past the eye-watering vanity and self-indulgence of the characters and plotting, there's much to admire, visually (great photography) and psychologically. Fellini may be in love with Rome, but the emptiness of the lives he throws at us is gradually driven home as the shallow and pointless adventure it is for the more thoughtful Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni).