A FAMOUS AND SWEET LIFE : "LA DOLCE VITA"

The sleeve for the DVD for this one reliably informs us that the Vatican was shocked by this work by master director Frederico Fellini. If we bear in mind that we are talking about Italy in the 1960’s here, I can actually quite see why. Yet the public adored it and continue to adore it to this very day. La Doce Vita is an unblinking stare, a wide-open window on a slice of Italian society in the 1960’s. What we make of what we see however, is really another discussion altogether.
Marcello Mastroianni stars as Marcello. He is a young men living it up in Rome. He has his ambitions, notably dreams of becoming a serious writer but as time has gone by these have very much slid onto the back burner as his job has taken over his life and his dreams. Marcello is a paparazzi (Only, funnily enough, they weren’t called that then – Paparazzi is actually the name of one of the characters in this film, ??’s photographer, a name that has been immortalized as the name of the profession today). Marcello knows full well that he could be more than this, but is also equally sure that along as he gallivants with the rich and famous, having affairs and getting sucked up into their world and especially since his readers enjoy his work so much, he will never, ever leave this life. We follow him down the streets of Rome, from nightclubs to decadent parties as he lives and plays with the spoilt children of Rome and marvel at this slice of life so far away from life itself…
Now, the main difficulty about La Dolce Vita is that it is about three hours long. Yes. And there is, I kid you not, no real, actual plotline. Yet, it may surprise you to find out, you will watch the entire three hours with baited breath and applaud in the end. I kind of like the way, in old films, how the directors hid a little allegorical gem of a tableau right at the end of the film, like literally in the last seconds. But anyway. The point is, even though there is no “story” per se – I mean there is; we see Marcello, his life, his so-called very long suffering fiancée (that gets introduced as the maid behind her back when appropriate), his affairs and his dreams. I mean it does come together as a coherent whole. Yet there is no “beginning, middle and end” in the classic sense that we are used to. Rather, the film has a sentiment. A story, a happening you sense and feel rather than understand, and the whole film, all the tableaux, all the crazy characters and the rich kids of Rome sort of gravitate around this core to make this sentiment all the more clear. Naturally I won’t elaborate too much on what this sentiment is; it gives far greater pleasure to work it out for yourself. Just let Fellini, with all his skill and imagination guide you through the world of the rich and famous. Just like the paparazzi today in fact only with much greater art and taste. Then take a good hard look at Marcello in the middle of it all. Don’t be afraid you’ll miss the message because it’s too subtle or something. Oh no. You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. This is precisely the quality that makes La Dolce Vita both original and a timeless classic; after all who said art should be understood with the head. Sometimes the heart does a far better job…