8½
1963 · Directed by Federico Fellini
Original language: Italian
- drama
The story
Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.
What it’s like
Stark black-and-white cinematography, all crisp contrast and smoky, shadowed interiors, with the camera gliding through crowded spa corridors, grand hotel lobbies and bare white studio sets in restless tracking shots. Fellini's frames are dense yet fluid: a circus of extras, cigarette haze, rain-streaked windows and the Italian sea washing through scenes of childhood memory, with Nino Rota's waltzing, carnival-tinged score doing much of the emotional work. The vibe is wry, melancholic and dreamlike, a restless late-night ache softened by absurd humour and dazzling visual invention. Pacing drifts between chaotic gatherings and quiet, drifting reverie, and the central man is a self-absorbed artist who slowly confronts his own paralysis and the people who depend on him. Its intensity is mostly psychological: adultery, depression, a suicide attempt and anxious confrontation, with no graphic violence and little gore. It suits a rainy evening or a patient rewatch, and it is for viewers who enjoy films about making films and who like their melancholy stylish, playful and unhurried.
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