8½

*Down with the Tyrant. Down with Bluebeard. Down with Guido! * Wow. I never thought a film about making a film could be so good. This film is perfect in every aspect. It’s gripping, it’s got beautiful cinematography, it flawlessly weaves in and out of dreams, reality, memories, Guido’s mind, and everything in between. That being said, I found it difficult to connect with Guido throughout most of the film, but seeing his downfall was pretty well deserved. I could relate to the writer’s block that he is experiencing, as I too have struggled many times to come up with an idea or figure something out, especially with such external pressures. There’s a lot more going on than just the making of the film in the film itself, thematically especially, but I need to rewatch this before I can say anything else about it, at least anything that is in any way insightful. With this, I do want to mention some scenes that I loved. The scene of Guido in the mud bath and shower hall was really cool, especially when all of the steam was masking the surroundings, leaving this strange, naked congregation of toweled men. I also really loved the grappling of self acceptance, his own critical nature, and identity that is shown through Guido and his memories/dreams. I was tempted to dock a half a star simply because of Guido and my inability to connect with him. The obstacle of writers block is one that I could relate to, as was his lack of belief in himself, but, outside of that, Guido didn’t have many characteristics that I found to be relatable. However, every single technical aspect of the film is unreal, I loved the performances from the actors and actresses themselves, and Fellini is quite obviously a masterful director. Overall, I loved this film and I think it is perfect.