I Go A Long Way to Say Nice Things About Three Films: La Strada, Groundhog Day and No Country For Old Men

Truthfully I don't find much of a difference between movies and "real life." Particularly inasmuch as films are so integral to my understanding of the world.

Many of the films I like the best help inform my understanding of the universe. They can serve as a prism through which I view the world or as window or better still a way to feel about the world.

I'm growing increasingly impatient with films that waste my time. Of course being particularly careful about what I watch helps, but still there's always an occasional stinker that I sit through quite by mistake.

A bad movie is like some interloper who strikes up a conversation with you while you could be reading a really good book.

Regular readers of this blog (both of us) know that I've been contemplating death a great deal these days. The passing of one my very best friends (a previously healthy athletic person two years my junior) a few weeks ago has had a lot to do with this. But so too has been my obsession these past few months with the films of Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen. Whether Bergman's Cries and Whispers (1972) or Allen's Love and Death (1975), the topic of human mortality is ever present in their work. As I've previously stated, this is in large part because their film's are great celebrations of life and ergo must dwell upon the opposite.

This has  been a cathartic experience for me and allowed for full recognition and acceptance of the fact that some day I will cease to be too. It's a relief. There's no use getting all depressed about it either. If one wants to feel miserable there's plenty going on among the living to do the job. Humans have thus far show no signs of evolving anywhere near a point where violence is not part and parcel to many of our cultures. That however is a subject for another time.

I've been fortunate enough recently to spend some time with some remarkable films. I've wanted to write about the last three that I've watched, but as I sit in front of a keyboard, or a pad of paper the proper words have eluded me. Mind you I've had plenty to say, but it's all been a lot of adjectives about acting, directing, scripts cinematography and the like.

The truth is I've felt it inadequate to go prattling on about how great something is. There are some really fun blogs that do nothing but extoll the virtues of various stars, directors or genres. Lots of lists, glowing adjectives and photos. This blog has frequently done the same.

But here's the deal: I've realized that far from anything being wrong with it, these are perfectly delightful blogs or blog posts to spend time with. We need not always take a critical eye to those things we enjoy. It's fine sometimes to just lead the applause.

But, you should excuse the expression, that's not where my head has been at recently. I have sought profundity, wisdom and insight. I've only wanted to share truths and stir thoughts. You see, I've gotten rather full of myself.

I hate pretense in others so I shouldn't have a bit of it from myself. Instead let me just rave about those three films I've watched this past week.

First there was La Strada (1954) the film that put Federico Fellini on the proverbial map, at least in terms of the US of A. Anthony Quinn and Giulietta Masina are transcendent as a traveling strongman and his abused assistant. Ms. Masina (the director's wife, by the by) could not be more endearing as the impish, clownish girl who is literally sold to the strongman.

I find La Strada an extremely difficult film to write about. (You have no idea how long it took to come up with the preceding sentence.) For one thing it can initially seem quite depressing.  There is a killing (however unintentional), a consequent mental breakdown. A parting of the ways and the discovery of our heroine's death by the grief stricken strong man. Yet this is an oddly uplifting film.

Perhaps it is simply a case of it being such robust film making. This is a much sparer film then future Fellini classics such as La Dolce Vita (1960). At least in terms of characters. It is at its heart as its title implies a road picture. The road of life maybe. Perhaps a look at destiny.

The real point may be that this is picture to appreciate for its richly drawn characters and their experiences and best of all the way their story is told. There are any number of indelible scenes. The circus, the spaghetti dinner, the high wire act, the night in the nunnery.

Okay, I still don't know what to say about La Strada. Except I love it. There, I said it!

Is the second film a contemplation of hell or of redemption?

Is it an amusing comedy or one of the deepest contemplations of the human condition ever filmed?

It is Groundhog Day (1993) and I submit that the answer to the above questions is: both. Surely you know the story. For one man the same day keeps repeating itself and he is the only person aware of it.

The man is Phil Connors (Bill Murray) a conceited, cynical, inconsiderate TV weatherman from Pittsburgh assigned to cover the Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney where a groundhog is called upon every second of February to forecast how much Winter is remaining. Phil is not the sort to do quaint or kitschy, he aspires to a network gig. There's a new producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell) along for the trip along with dopey cameraman (Chris Elliot).

Phil goes to bed at the end of a frustrating day in which a storm has kept him trapped in town. He wakes up the next morning to find that it's not the next morning but the previous one. This happens again, and again and again and again and again for what director Harold Ramis has said is ten years worth of February the 2nds.

It remains a brilliant idea for a film because it is so open to interpretation. I watched it on, of all days, Groundhog Day. It got me thinking about how I would use the blessing/curse of repeating a day. For one thing I'd become fluent in French and for another I'd read all the great works of literature that I've still not gotten around to. But of course the film at it's heart is a study of how we choose to live our lives and interact with those around us. And how rare it is to get a second, let alone a 1,000th chance. Connors finally learns to embrace life and make the most of himself and be honest and loving. What a wonderful message.

We close with No Country For Old Men (2007) one of that tiny, tiny percentage of films that I believe is worthy of the tile masterpiece. The Coen Brothers made as close to perfect a film as possible, right down to and including the ending that had so many yokels saying: "huh?" It was no the nice tidy wrap up that most people want from a movie. It concluded exactly as did Cormac McCarthy's book of the same name that it was so faithfully adopted from.

It is a great gift indeed when a film allows us to decide that nagging question: then what? Besides a pat ending would have ruined the opportunity the NCFOM provides to wonder. Just who or what was Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem)? Why the car accident? Was he meant to symbolize the grim reaper? Why the code of killing he lived by? Why did he so scrupulously avoid blood?

NCFOM is powerful meditation on death. (And is it not interesting that the two main characters who die do so off camera?) It is fascinating to watch the manner in which Chigurh dispenses it and also note how Kelly MacDonald's and Woody Harrelson's characters face the inevitable.

But what came through most clearly for me with my latest viewing was Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). He has such a sad (and yet sometimes funny) wisdom about the world expressed eloquently (verbatim from the novel) at the beginning and end of the story and a few parts in between. He is involved in no acts of violence but sees its sad aftermath and is left to contemplate it. He makes two references to other heinous crimes. Like many of us Ed Tom can make no sense of this sad aspect of human behavior. Of one crime he says that you could not make such stuff up and "I'd defy you to try."

This is not, in some respects, an easy film to watch. But it is so very rewarding. This is a case of film making aspiring to the power of great literature and actually succeeding. 

I'd Like You to Meet Some Friends of Mine

Left to right these are my buddies Federico, Marcello and Sophie. We recently vacationed together.

Movies For Those Long Summer Evenings

Would I actually suggest that a person spend part of a lovely Summer day sitting at home watching a DVD? You better believe I would. For one thing you may be living in some God forsaken place where its too bloody hot to do anything but sit inside. But even if that's not the case and you're one of those outdoor types (hmm, the outdoors, isn't that where some movie scenes are filmed?) you've got to come inside eventually.

I'd imagined you'd can get plum tuckered out climbing hills, frolicking in the surf or puttering around in your garden. Let's say its dusk and you're ready to stretch out on the sofa. Perhaps you don't have to rise early the next day and fancy a movie that you can settle into. It would be my great pleasure to offer some suggestions. All of the following choices offer two things: a top quality viewing experience and length. Also, none are depressing or require taxing your cerebrum any more than you want to. And for my money you can watch them in the middle of a gorgeous day if you want to.

Chillin' With the Corleones Either The Godfather (1972) or The Godfather Part 2 (1974) will do. In fact make them back-to-back choices over the course of a weekend, just don't go overboard and watch the third Godfather film which is to the first two as Hoboken is to Paris and Rome. The original remains to me the greatest film of all time and part two the greatest ever sequel. One can watch them in a variety of ways such as exploring the tragic transformation of Michael Corleone or as a parable for modern times. For purposes of this discussion, however, they are best viewed for the sheer fun of their look, their performances, the characters and the scope of the story.

Lean On Me British director David Lean created two of the greatest epics on film, Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). If you're in the mood for a World War II  film set in the Eastern theater of operations and especially if you like a little POW action, Bridge is an excellent choice. It's a sprawling, audacious story with characters to match played wonderfully by the likes of Alec Guiness, William Holden and Sessue Hayakawa. If, however, you'd like to spend some time in the desert, maybe with Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, Lawrence is the way to go. Plenty of action and well defined, compelling characters here too. Either way you are going to see the textbook definition of classic cinema.

Indy Films In this instance Indy refers to Indiana Jones the hero of four films. Stick to the even numbered ones, two and four are best avoided. But Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), the first in the series, and number three, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) are pure pop corn munching delights. These are much, much imitated films but their brilliance has rarely been approached and never equaled, let alone topped. These are rollicking adventures with comic book style bad guys, a charismatic hero (Harrison Ford with Sean Connery thrown into the Last Crusade as his dad) and superbly done scenes of derring do and disaster avoided just in the nick of time. Most films that are designed to be pure fun are pure shlock. Good action adventure is clearly not easy to do. Great action adventure is pretty much just these two films.

Fun With Fellini You want long, you want fun, you want excpetional and you want Italian. Look no further than Federecio Fellini classics La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1/2 (1963) or Amarcord (1973). Three choices and each is, in my mind, better than the next. Like all other films on the list they are long and like the others you wouldn't have them a second shorter. Fellini had a lot to say and by God wasn't waste time being concise. Editing is so very time consuming and when you've put such beautiful films on celluloid as these, why bother? The first two offer the benefits of Marcello Mastrionni and a bevy of beauties. Amacord is my favorite though, a moving but unsentimental look at the great Italian director's hometown around the time he was growing up. All are, needless to say but I'm saying it anyway, Felliniesque, which means a melding of reality and fantasy and plenty of extraordinary characters.

Great Escapism Something about The Great Escape (1963) makes it seem the perfect Summer movie. A cast that includes Steve McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn and David McCullum  may have something to do with it. Also you've got Nazis, not the Schindler's List kind who shoot people in the head but also not the To Be or Not to Be who are total buffoons. In other words Nazis that are just right -- at least for the action genre. Add to this a mass escape which includes the coolest motorcycle chase you'll ever see (at the foot of the Alps, no less) and you're in for some serious fun. This is the best of the umpteen World War II films that Hollywood cranked out during the Baby Boom years.

Kickin' it with Kubrick For hours of visual mastery you can't do better than either 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or Barry Lyndon (1975) two outsized classics from director Stanley Kubrick. I discussed 2001 in a recent post and Barry Lyndon in my preceding post, saying as much as I had to offer about both at the time. I will here add that both are great Summer films because you can watch them just for the look if you so desire, worrying very little about plot or themes.

Happy 100th Akira Why not celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa with a viewing of his masterpiece, The Seven Samurai (1954)?  This was one of many epic length Kurosawa films and clearly the best of the lot. It is also one of the most imitated films of all time, particularly of the action genre. Seven samurai are recruited by the poor but plucky residents of a small village to fend off a large group of bandits who are terrorizing their town. The ensuing violence is not terribly graphic but it is not silly, contrived or gratuitous. It is what I'd call realistically balletic. Warning: Watching Seven Samuarai may lead you to explore many, many more Kurosawa films.

The Sorrow and the Pity, LAMB Readers' Top Ten Foreign Language Films

                                  From Fellini's Amacord.

The Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMB) today published its list of top ten foreign language films as voted by it's members (yours truly included).

It's way too easy to pick apart such lists as they invariably fail to include a personal favorite. To rant and rave or even blog about the cinematic classics missing is a fool's errand. However, if such a list reveals a some truths then mention can and perhaps should be made.

First, let's look at the list:

10. The Lives of Others - 34 points from 6 voters (1)
9. M - 35 points from 6 voters (0)
8. Rules of the Game - 48 points from 7 voters (3)
7. (of course) Seven Samurai - 61 points from 7 (of course) voters (5)
6. Let the Right One In - 63 points from 12 voters (0)
5. Pan's Labyrinth - 72 points from 8 voters (3)
4. City of God - 73 points from 9 voters (2)
3. Oldboy - 75 points from 9 voters (2)
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 80 points from 13 voters (1)
1. Amelie - 88 points from 12 voters (3)

Truth number one can be revealed by the paucity of votes. Only 44 members of LAMB bothered to vote. I'm not sure how many LAMBers there are but an educated guess is there's well over 200. Also, there was a recent poll asking readers what their favorite Clint Eastwood-directed film is. It got 78 votes. Yet only 44 people could manage to name their ten favorite foreign language film. Sadly, I'm led to conclude that one helluva lot of LAMBers don't watch foreign cinema or haven't seen enough to make a list of ten they like.

Imagine limiting your viewing choices to English only films! It's as insane as not watching anything old or anything new.

A second truth revealed is that of those of us who've watched foreign language films, many have only seen recent releases. Seven of the ten movies and all of the top six were released in the past ten years. There is one film from Jean Renoir, one from Akira Kurosawa, one from Fritz Lang and none at all from Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Bunel, Vittoria De Sica, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman or Roberto Rossellini. Let me clarify. None. Zero.

So not only have we got people who eschew foreign cinema, but those that do apparently favor recent releases that played in their local multiplex. And these are people with film blogs!

(I pause to remind myself not to get depressed. I then wonder if its too late to avoid getting preachy.)

Since I've gone this far I should also express disappointment, though not surprise, at  the top three films on the list: I'm disappointed, but not surprised by the top three on this list.  Imagine Amelie beating out all the films of Bergman, Fellini, Truffaut, Kurosawa and every other director who has created a cinematic masterpiece.

Please allow me now to express my gratitude for LAMB. I am sincere in saying it's a terrific website promoting as it does the love of film and writing and commenting about film. It's a great way for film bloggers to get connected and to be exposed to other bloggers. (We cool?)

For the record, here are my top ten favorite foreign language films.

1. Amarcord (1973) Fellini
2. Grand Illusion (1937) Renoir
3. 8 1/2 (1963) Fellini
4. Army of Shadows (1969) Melville
5. The Seventh Seal (1957) Bergman
6. M (1931) Lang
7. Nights of Cabiria (1957) Fellini
8. Rules of the Game(1939)Renoir
9. Open City(1945)Rossellini
10.Beauty and the Beast (1946) Cocteau

Il Mio Viaggio in Italia -or- My Journey Through Italian Cinema (Part Nine: La Dolce Vita)

Behold the empty man, Marcello Rubini. Handsome, sophisticated intelligent in an easy unaffected way. But with no depth at all. Let's be thankful for that. Because it is through him, the protagonist of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) that we see a wonderful episodic tale of Rome circa 1960.

We follow the adventures of this journalist and would be novelist, mostly in the wee hours of the night as he cavorts about with the beautiful, the famous and the rich. These adventures comprise nearly three hours in cinematic time. Director Federico Fellini could have cut an hour and had a nice tidy film that would have been beloved. Instead he left all stories in and let them all play out and so created a masterpiece.

We can enjoy the spectacle of La Dolce Vita because it is unencumbered by a deep and philosophical protagonist. Marcello Mastrioni plays Rubini as the ultimate nihilist. He has no strong moral center and apparently no core beliefs. He doesn't even qualify as a hedonist for he can't even manage to indulge copiously. There's a certain current day teenage girl ethos to Rubini. He's like whatever.

Sure he aspires to be a serious author, so long as actual work is not required. Meanwhile he's satisfied with collecting the snippets of life, provided they relate to the glitterati. Around him is a wolf pack of photographers, especially a chap named Paparazzo (the character who gave his name to the paparazzi). They are more obvious, intrusive leeches. Their cameras are as evident and obnoxious as Rubini's pen is hidden. They also lack his many accoutrements, such as sophisticated style.

Whether in a nightclub, a party among the upper crust or in a helicopter (Jesus statue in tow). Rubini has access to the most beautiful women in Rome. Some he falls for, some fall for him. But it's more like the old song:

There are those who can leave love or take it

Love to them is just what they make it There are those who can leave love or take it

I wish that I were the same

But love is my fav'rite game

I fall in love too easily

I fall in love too fast

I fall in love too terribly hard

For love to ever last

My heart should be well-schooled

'Cause I've been burned in the past

And still I fall in love too easily

I fall in love too fast

This is a wonderful plot convenience that Fellini has provided. Rubini's susceptibility to women's charms coupled with there's to his, allows the likes of Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee and Magali Noel to dance across screen.

There is also within La Dolce Vita such mysteries as the character of Steiner (Alain Curry). A wealthy sophisticate with a brain to match his bankbook and -- of all things -- a perfectly happy nuclear family. If you've not seen the film I shouldn't here reveal his fate, but suffice to say it is the anchor of La Dolce Vita's many light moments. Odd that Rubini makes the point on a couple of occasions that he and Steiner are good friends thought they rarely see one another. There's something especially piquant about this.

La Dolce Vita is like the grandest dessert tray you've ever seen. Marcello is our waiter. We don't want his life story. Just bring us the treats, maybe tell us a little about everything. This he does.

We follow Rubini, as one would a guide, albeit a handsome one.

La Dolce Vita lacks the madness of Fellini's 8 1/2, the clarity of Nights of Cabiria, or the inventiveness of Amarcord. But like these other great films it serves strong visual fare in wonderful abundance. Here is the work of a director fully confident in his story, his characters and his camera. To some the film goes on too long. These are people who leave a party early, forgetting that sleep can be had on other nights. This party, this movie, is an occasion to savor, not cut short. That's why Marcello is a perfect host. Asking little of us but to enjoy the festivities, we needn't indulge in any great philosophical dialogues. This night, this movie is for other senses.

Great Filmmaking, It's a Matter of Faith

The great ones don't hold back. They aren't afraid to take chances. They have faith in themselves. That's what distinguishes greatness, a faith in oneself.

I saw it yesterday in my second viewing of A Serious Man. The Coen Brothers did not use a single pretty face. Not one. They had a man endure all manner of misfortune. They had a film steeped in Jewish culture. They had a story within the story that went nowhere. They had a moral retrobate that we felt  for. They had loose ends (isn't life full of them? Loose ends everywhere. So why not in art?). They had a magnificent film because they weren't restrained. They let the story dictate itself. This was not from a script writing template.

Quentin Tarantino did the same thing. Not a shy man, more importantly, not a shy director (read: artist). His Inglourious Basterds just went ahead and changed history. Why not? Actual events are just a plot device anyway. That long unbroken first scene. Who does that? He did and it was cinematic gold. Sticking the David Bowie song in the middle of the film was inspired, just as the Coens did by using a Hendrix tune in the middle of the story about the Jewish dentist. Anyone can do unconventional, not many can make gold out of it.

Fellini could. 8 1/ 2 begins with a guy stuck in traffic, he's suffocating, he floats away... That's just the start of the movie!


Conventionality is good to a degree, but my God you need to break away and dance. You need to look at the world in different ways. Look at it this way. Black and white films, beautiful. But life, you want colors, lots of them. You want variety. That's where art comes in. It forces helps you see the world, your life, your view of the world your view of life, in different ways. Art Inglourious Basterdschanges our focus. It gets our brain ticking and might I add tocking. Like the character, the young rabbi in A Serious Man said: "look at that parking lot!"


It's not so easy to look and think in different ways all the time. Most of us only have the one brain (and that's if we're lucky) so great artists come along and help us see. And in terms of movies I'm not just talking directors or screenwriters, the cinemaphotogpraphers and set designers are crucial too and let's not forget the actors. Marlin Brando, Sean Penn those actors who interpret a character in a different way. Helps us see a person, people maybe, in different ways. Heck, the Marx brothers did that too. (Ya know what Geoffery T. Spaulding in Animal Crackers said the T. stood for? Edgar!).

Lot of people complain about ambiguity in films, especially at the ending. Want the story wrapped up in a pretty little bow. So what, you want it neatly finished to store away and forget about? Come on. How about a movie that lives with you. That leaves questions for you to ponder and answer your own way. Speaking of the Coens, their No Country For Old Men  was brilliant in that regard. Not just who the hell was Anton Chigurh, but what was he? What did he represent? Art isn't a summation, it's an invitation. If its all  there it can be an empty experince. In one ear out the other. But if we have, no GET TO think, to ponder, to wonder. That's beautiful. That's art.


Challenging. Maybe at first resistant to us. We have to try. The more you put in the more you get out. A nice comfy movie can be good every now and again but how cool is it when a film makes some percolation go on in our brains? Hey, to me that's fun stuff. It's the stuff the great ones produce.

Cinema Magic From Fellini's Amarcord

Il Mio Viaggio in Italia -or- My Journey Through Italian Cinema (Part Four: 8 1/2)

There's this guy, see and he....He's a director struggling with...And he's got a rich fantasy life...his wife....his lover...a producer who, like a lot of....Catholics, including priests....Symbolism!

Sometimes I write about a film that's so meaningful (to me) that I figure I gotta outdo myself. All stops pulled out, a post that beats the band. Those pulled out stops are beaten by the band with a post.

Words fail.

Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (1963).

Guido Anselmi is an artista. Specifically a film director. A ladies man, you should excuse the archaic expression. Played by Marcello Mastroianni, he is Italian cool to the nth degree. Bemused, happily tortured by the many women, supplicants, and hangers on. He's been called both a sadist and a masochist. I know this is a reflection on me, but he seems pretty together. Everyone around him is a little...a little what? A little much at times. They sure won't let the man be. Questions, comments, demands.

There's magic.

There's the Catholic church.

There's beautiful women.

There are dreams and fantasies and the all mix together for a most delicious stew. You could make this movie too provided you were Fellini. Otherwise -- forget it!

Some people don't get it. There's too much or the story doesn't hold or it's self indulgent. Oh well. I offer no insults, explanations or apologies.

It's this: a movie you can go for a walk in. You got your Claudia Cardinale, your Anouk Aimee (fer starters with the women, this is) you got life with all its best parts. The living and dreaming and the excepting that the trials and tribulations are blessings. They mean we're here that we're present. 8 1/2 celebrates life. Look, no one's dying, no one's in any real pain. There's some angst to be sure. There's a lot of existential this and that. Mostly there's rhythm, you can see it in the way people walk. There's the beat, the dance that is life. No wonder they made a musical out of this that will be a film released next month. This is a musical with visuals. (I know what I mean.)

We start in a dream sequence that's one of the most (adjective here) opening scenes you'll ever behold. Stuck in car in traffic and asphyxiated -- not so nice. But the floating, the being pulled down to the beach -- so nice.

Then to the spa. One film in the can the next about to start. But THE MAN NEEDS HIS REST. Won't get it. Will get the women. The wife, the lover, the exes. Will get the producer, typical suit worried about what, the bottom line. Will get the "collaborator" the writer. Pain in the arse, ask me. Will get those papists. Weird scene. Slip in and out of memories, fantasy. (Here's to the harem scene!).

Will get a closing scene that's one of the most (insert another adjective here) on film.

Here's what Guido says during the movie: I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest film. No lies whatsoever. I thought I had something so simple to say. Something useful to everybody. A film that could help bury forever all those dead things we carry within ourselves. Instead, I'm the one without the courage to bury anything at all. When did I go wrong? I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it all the same.

Hmm. This the director in the movie or the director of the movie talking? (I think so too).

I owe this movie a book. It inspires the creative in me, the artista the intellectual with a dancing soul. It dares to be great. It dares to go places and invites viewers to come along. That's what's so damn great about 8 1/2. It's a ride you get on and off as you please. It's not a one and done film. Not if you like it and if you like it you love it. There is, to flip a phrase, a madness to Fellini's method. You can watch so much here. You can play along at home. What's this mean and what's that all about. Or just enjoy the look which is really the FEEL. Oh sure and the characters too. Watch how sane, how utterly maddeningly and completely sane Guido can seem. Look at whatta crazy sunavbitch he can seem. The world's coolest everyman. (You do know this is an allegory -- no it's not!) Not many movies go in so many directions at once -- on purpose!

Mmmmmmmmm......

Affascinante! Entusiasmante!

Il Mio Viaggio in Italia -or- My Journey Through Italian Cinema (Part Two: I Vitelloni)

A group of guys.

Three or more fellows who hang out regularly. Known each other for years. Share their secrets, their fears, their hopes. One chap, why he's the intellectual in the group, another is the ladies man, one may be a brooder, one constantly flirts with trouble. In other words, they all have their modus operandi.

Movies have enjoyed stories about groups of guys. Whether kids as in Stand By Me (1986), mobsters as in Mean Streets (1973), or regular blokes like in Diner (1982).

In the nascent stage of his directorial career, Federico Fellini made a semi autobiographical film about a group of guys, I vitelloni (1953). While a fine film in its own right, to me its more a precursor of what was to come from Fellini. It lacks the verve and the daring of Amarcord (1973), for example, another movie based in a small Italian coastal city. Fellini was just warming up in the early Fifties, but doing so with movies that would make most directors envious.

Like most films about a circle of friends, I vitelloni focuses on one member of the assemblage. In this case it is Fausto, the one who gets married early on in the picture and not incidentally, the one who is a complete and utter cad. Here Fellini departs from the standard buddies picture by spending so much of the film on the shenanigans of one character giving very little screen time to most of the crew. This is by no means a complaint, merely an observation and after all, Fellini is quite unlike your garden variety director.

The friends long to leave their insular community, hoping to spread their wings in the big city, Milan or Rome. One can guess how this works out. Only the playwright, Leopoldo (the group's intellectual we are told in the beginning of the film) has a real chance. It is axiomatic that small town guys have out sized dreams and rarely the wherewithal or moxie to make them happen.

But Fellini does not seek to belittle the big dreamers, indeed he makes no judgement on the philandering Fausto who goes so far as to make a pass at his bosses' wife. Fellini is showing not telling. He lets the audience make their own judgments and guess at the fates of the gang.

There are some trademark Fellini scenes and moments in I vitteloni. An eccentric dance; colorfully idiosyncratic, whimsical and downright loony townspeople; drunken costumed revelry; and fountains, you must have scenes around fountains.

I vitelloni works best as character studies. This is especially true of the aforementioned Fausto and Leopoldo and Moraldo (the youngest of the group) who supposedly represents Fellini. Not surprisingly he is the most sane and sober of the lot. While others talk the talk, he prepares to walk it.

While the movie focuses on a group of guys, Fellini's films, and this is no exception, are very kind to, indeed celebrate women. Fellini's women are either beautiful, wise, tough as nails or a combination thereof. A lesser director, a lesser man, would have used women as props in such a film as this. Sex objects, nags or loving but vacuous mothers. Not Fellini. His love of women shines throughout this and his other films.

This is most certainly a forerunner of even more Felliniesque films to come. There is that wonderful and very real combination of the bizarre and the common in both people and events. Evidently some rate the film on a par with or even higher than the great director's better known works. Though I beg to differ with such lofty sentiments about I vitelloni, it is a film I'll gladly visit again (last night was my first viewing). Fellini's movies all get better with repeat viewings. I could easily watch it without sound just to better enjoy the stunning look of it. I'd also like to get better acquainted with the gang. Hey, I wanna hang out with em too.

The Art of Fellini's Amarcord

There is an implicit trust in audiences evident in Federico Fellini's Amarcord (1973). The director believes in his audience. The great Italian film maker did not give in to formulas or focus groups or trends. Fellini was an original storyteller.

Many present day American films are finely polished and meticulously made. Their stars are beautiful, the characters they portray are smart, witty and sexy. The stories feature well honed dialogue replete with wit and subtle inoffensive social commentary. The special effects are flawless and the cinematography lush. These films are precisely edited helping the stories sail by while clocking in at around one hour and forty minutes. The musical scores are loud but perfectly accompany the story, often including a memorable song from a popular recording artist. The locations are either romantic international locales or finely air brushed big bustling American cities that look exiting and vibrant.

These movies are thrilling and entertaining and instantly forgettable the moment the credits roll. They're remembered again when the DVD, replete with extras, is available on Amazon.

The directors are gentlemen like Ron Howard, Michael Bey, Tony Scott, or Paul Greengrass. Their films are slick and cool and as nutritious as cotton candy.

Amracord is the polar opposite of this type of assembly line product. It is a work of art as opposed to a product. It is the result of a director's passion to tell stories with imagination and verve.

The story takes place over the course of one full year in the late 1930's in the Italian sea side town of Rimini. While Amarcord focuses on one family in particular it is more about Rimini, which is to say it is about the residents.

Several characters act as narrators, sometimes speaking directly into the camera. One even tells us when the film is over. Characters do not walk purposefully, they glide, they amble, they dance, they appear. One scene is the re-telling of a story and the character are highly mannered, they even start the scene frozen into position, not by the camera freezing, but by them holding a pose.

Fellini's camera work foretells what Martin Scorsese would later do in Goodfellas. Long wonderful tracking shots help evoke the kaleidoscope of a town's people and the events that shape their lives. These events can include anything from a peacock landing in the town square during a rare snow storm or a fascist rally or celebration of Spring's arrival.

The film's characters are, well, characters and quite eccentric ones at that. They're at once broad and as real as if this were a documentary. They are certainly not the archetypes or stereotypes of modern mainstream cinema. Some are bulldog ugly and gap toothed. Others are skinny as beanpoles some are as fat as houses and still others are impossibly old and leather faced. But not a one of them is repulsive or unpleasant in the least. For they are all unique and true to themselves. The town's beauty is a perfectly handsome woman of about 40. She'd be too old, too short and not stunning enough for today's Hollywood. But I'd take her over Julia Roberts or Kate Hudson any day of the week.

The goings on about town are at once of the everyday variety and wildly improbable. (Trust me if you see the movie the sentence makes perfect sense.) A family takes their mentally ill relation out of the institution for a monthly outing and he climbs up a tree demanding a woman and throwing rocks at anyone who climbs up to get him. This same family's teenage son gets himself into the tobacconist's shop after hours. The proprietor has humongous breasts and after arousing this ample woman by lifting her, he's veritably smothered by her breasts. The whole town sails out in all manner of watercraft for a midnight rendezvous with a passing luxury liner. It is several stories high, lit up like a Christmas tree and a sight to behold.

Amarcord is full of magic. The magic of everyday life. The magic that is there to those who look for it, who stop and sway to the music and wait for it to come.

Fellini could find that magic without reverting to high speed chases, jewel heists or global conspiracies. Hell, he could find it all in one village.

In Amarcord there is tragedy, there is romance, there is laughter and there is a wedding. There is everything. The film lasts a little over two hours. When it ends one wishes this were only the intermission. Another two hours would do nicely.

Amarcord does not fade quickly from memory. It is too visually compelling to be forgotten. The characters, the stories the wholeness of it resonates. It is not pretty and glossy and hip. No, it's so much more than that. It's art.

Visit Exotic Locales in Exciting Times -- See a Movie!

With the economy looking like something the cat dragged in many people can't afford a vacation. But that doesn't mean you can't can't take a trip via the magic of movies. Not only can you see an unfamiliar locale you can also time travel. The family and I enjoyed seeing Paris two months ago but how much more exciting would have been if we'd traveled back in time and seen it during the Reign of Terror or amid the German Occupation or while the while under siege by the Prussian army? Okay bad examples. The point is that through film you can often get a sense of a faraway place in times past. Sometimes that look is not completely accurate but it can still give the viewer a feeling for the time period and tickle the imagination.

As your cinematic travel agent I've got a few suggestions for places and time periods you might like to see. The beauty of these travel packages is that they'll set you back no more than the cost of a movie rental and in each case you'll be enjoying a fine film in the process.

See Berlin in 1931 via Cabaret (1972). (See photo above.) What a bargain vacation this is! You get high end entertainment from the likes of Liza Minelli and Joel Grey. Lots of sex, the crescendo of Berlin's wild and wholly nightclub scene of the Wiemar era and the ominous rise of the Nazis. Okay, so no trip is perfect. But as ominous as those Nazis lurking in the background are, they're not quite in power yet so just enjoy some of the grandest musical numbers ever to grace the screen.

See Vienna in the late 1940s via The Third Man (1949). Want to buy some penicillin? Meet Harry Lime. Shady character. Other black market goods are available too. There's also an American author of Westerns, one Holly Martins. A lovely, if moody, actress named Anna Schmidt is likewise around. You'll also see war ravaged Vienna in all its magnificent rubble. Take in a nightclub, the theater and a presentation by Martens. Tours of the Viennese sewer system also provided.

See West Texas circa 1987 via No Country For Old Men (2007). BYOW (bring your own water). Stark, dry country with vistas that stretch forever. Some of the towns and cities are not terribly exotic, but oh the people you'll meet. Why there comes Anton now, he of the cheap haircut. Maybe you can toss coins with him. You'll see some simple but quite functional hotel rooms, get an introduction to the proper use of firearms and visit the Mexican border. Horseback riding and pick up truck trips included. Just be careful not to pick up any satchels filled with enormous sums of money. That just tends to set Anton off.

See New York in the 1860's via Gangs of New York (2002). Mind your pocketbooks folks. In fact, maybe you just better bring a bodyguard or a pistol. Dangerous though this city may be it's full of colorful rogues and their affiliates. Best to not involve yourself and enjoy the show. There's Monk McGinn, here comes Boss Tweed and look see Bill The Butcher (Irish beware) and say hello to Hell-Cat Maggie -- from a safe distance. Yes you're about to experience New York's notorious five points district. You'll see the streets, the homes (such as they are) and the business establishments. A tour of the finer districts is also provided. For your further entertainment pugilism sans rules will be offered.

See San Francisco in 1958 via Vertigo (1958). The city by the bay was never lovelier nor more full of color. The hills, the neighborhoods, the Bay, the Golden Gate and its bridge. Missions are part of the tour as is a fine eatery, Ernie's, no longer extant. You'll also get to hop along some rooftops, but if you're afraid of heights I'd skip it. An interesting segment of San Francisco history will be introduced by a bookstore owner. A few drives out of the city will provide pleasant diversion. Your guides will be an ex cop and a knockout blonde. They're a cute couple, just stay out of bell towers with them.

See Paris in the early 1930's via Boudu Saved From Drowning (1932). Paris was no less beautiful 70 years ago and a look at it in black and white doesn't diminish its grandeur a whit. With this tour you'll see the city both through a tramp and an an upper middle class family and even see what unfolds when their worlds meet. Take a dip in the Seine. See the shops, the slums, the fringes of the city. Meet one kooky mendicant.

See Bruges today via In Bruges (2008). My friend Colin doesn't much care for the place but you might find this Belgium city, the Venice of the North, a beautiful locale indeed. You'll marvel at the medieval architecture, the canals, the belfry with carillon. Many sights to see including the exciting escapades of two Irishmen on a most peculiar holiday. Maybe you'll be lucky and they'll be filming a movie while you're there.

See Warsaw during WWII via The Pianist (2002). Not a sight for the faint of heart but a fascinating trip for the history buff. See the terrible human toll of the Holocaust on one European city and the physical devastation caused by war. Rubble everywhere. You'll swear you're really there and you'll be glad you're not when you witness the treatment of the Jews at the hands of Nazi occupiers. There is a gifted pianist at the center of the story (hence the title) and you'll enjoy meeting him and his struggle to survive against all odds. An inspiring journey to be sure.

See Rome in 1960 via La Dolce Vita (1960). You'll be in no hurry to leave. Glamour, romance, excitement, beauty, did I say glamour? You'll also witness the birth of the paparazzi, at least by name (again no trip is perfect). But what delightful folks you'll meet. Marcello, Sylvia, Maddalena to name but a few of the beautiful people. With Federico Fellini as your guide you can't go wrong. You'll enjoy much of Rome and some of its outskirts. Seven days and nights of living life to the hilt in the eternal city!

See Rio in the 1960s through the 1980s via City of God (2002). Watch out for the little rascals! You'll be slumming some on this trip but what a fascinating sociological study it will make! In its own way picturesque, this trip may give you insight into the human condition. Perhaps you'll be inspired to act for those less fortunate. A great trip for the social activist.

Oh the places you can go! More cinematic travel suggestions to come in the future.