I
have not matured enough to discuss Fellini or Rome, but I visited Margutta
street where Fellini I lived with Giulietta Masina, so I decided to jot some
things down.
Fellini
left his home Rimini, which he depicted in Amarcord, and came to Rome when he
was 17 under the Mussolini government.
It
was inevitable to enter the movie industry from the scenarios of Rossellini’s “Roma
città apert.
The
atmosphere here is well depicted in the vulgar scenes of Trastevere
neighborhood in “Fellini’s Roma.
“Fellini’s
Roma” shows chaos and freedom.
The
confusion of war, hippies in 72, motorcycles racing by, or the bizarre and
brilliant fashion shows by priests, they are all the same Roma.
The
scene where the old Fresco drawings disappear as soon as it touches modern air
is an homage to uncertainty of beauty.
“La
Dolce Vita”.
From
the intro when the helicopter hangs the statue of Christ to the scene where
Silvia and Marcello climb up the stairs of St. Peter's Basilica, it represents
the chaos of modern and old times.
(When
I visited St. Peter's Basilica, the “holy gates” which only opens once every 25
years was open. Apparently, having gone through the gate, all my sins have been
forgiven.)
Fatigue
and depravation. You reach for the elegant lady but you can’t get her.
The
intelligent elite professor kills himself, taking his family with him.
Cannot
be saved. Cannot be saved.
Fellini
says the Rome he draws in “La Dolce Vita” is “The town in my imagination”.
The
monument that remains on Veneto street.
Tired
from the party, Marcello finds a dead body of an ugly fish/stingray.
What
awaits us past disorder and despair.
The
screaming voice of the beautiful girl on the shores do not get to him. Marcello
says “Chao” and turns around.
Suburbs
of Rome, Ostia shores.
Today,
these are shining resorts.
Similarly
at Ostia shores, Guido, impersonated by Mastroianni, is told “Chao” by
Saraghina, a strange girl dancing the Rumba at “8 1/2”.
A
beautiful and sad parting from boyhood.
A
beach that shines on the history of film.
In
“8 1/2” Fellini filmed himself.
The
title came from the number of pieces he had shot up to that point. He thought
of the structure while he was driving to Ostia.
He
filmed it on site and he improvised based on instinct.
You
could say it was Nouvelle Vague.
This
shore is known as a place where Pasolini was killed after filming “Salò”.
“Life
is a festival”
The
last scene of “8 1/2” where he runs in circles is one of the best 3 ending
scenes (for me) next to Ferdinand exploding in Godard’s “Pierrot Le Fou” and
the long take on the beach in Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Sansho the Bailiff”. Although
apparently “Pierrot Le Fou” is an homage to Mizoguchi.
They
are all shot on the beach.
Fellini
uses plazas like these very preciously.
Anita
Ekberg walks into an empty Trevi Fountain with a kitten on her head.
A
famous scene from “La Dolce Vita”.
Drew
the holy plaza with strong paintbrush strokes.
Renzi
Park is where the boxing match takes place in “Fellini’s Roma”.
Plazas
like these are what makes Italy, Italy.
I
visited a village called Bagnoregio in Lazio, where “La Strada” was shot.
Was
Gelsomina here, or Zampano...?
I
could not find out,
Right
across from there, the “Castle in the Sky” called Civita was enshrined.
I
hear it is the model for Miyazaki Hayao’s “Castle in the Sky”.
The
white spa in “8 1/2” was Chianciano Terme, near Siena, Toscana.
It
was a sad village.
Fellini
kept drawing elegant women.
But
maybe he was looking for tranquility.
Yes,
just like Marcello and Guido.
