Tuesday, January 23, 2007

I Vitelloni


My first impression of I Vitelloni was that this Fausto character is somewhat predictable in his actions. He is seen right off back making flirt with one of the contestants when he clearly has some obligation to Sandra already. Shortly after that scene Fausto is seen packing with intention of fleeing town. His character is audience friendly because he is always getting himself in trouble, however it seemed to drag on a bit after some time. Finally when the films conflict peaks we have Fausto in despearate search for his wife when she leaves him for being unfaithful.

Its not that I didn't enjoy watching this gang get into miscief and stay out late drunk getting some kicks in, I just thought that the film lacked romantic content between any two characters. However I did enjoy the traditional Fellini comedy, such as the priest in a tree and Fausto's father taking out the belt. Over all I thought that film was well done and the connection to Goodfellas was interesting as well.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

The White Sheik




I think that The White Sheik was the better of the two films i saw last monday. It was a bit better flowing than Variety Lights and it was quite comical to watch Ivan talk his way out of trouble with his family concerning the absense of his wife. I thought that Wanda's desire to visit this certian location so soon in the film was a little bit mysterious; seeing that we know nothing of this secret person so far. I found that some of the close up scenes of characters faces were very well placed and helped portray character feeling. The whole field day with the White Sheik and Wanda showed the White Sheik's attitude toward his wife and his desire to manipulate the feelings of young women for his own pleasure. The end of the film i thought was kind of cheesy however it was effective in showing how each Wanda and Ivan had cheated on eachother.

Variety Lights


Variety Lights was my first Fellini picture and the plot did not appeal to me for the most part. However i did enjoy the characters that he had chosen for this particular film. They seemed very realistic and full of life. I thought he did a great job with the Liliana characters relationship with Ceccho. From their first meet Ceccho clearly shows an interest in this woman, and she has every intention of riding him to get to the top and eventually betraying him leaving Ceccho in a desperate return to his wife. I believe that this point is the climax in the conflict of the film and the audience finally sees Ceccho at his all time low.