Thursday, January 15, 2009
La Dolce Vita
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Ok, I have been looking forward to Friday for a couple months now. The IMA will be presenting a 35mm print of one of my top 5 films of all time, La Dolce Vita. If you have not seen this masterpiece by Federico Fellini, I suggest you take this opportunity to see it. Do not wait. Cancel all your other engagements and get over to the Toby and watch it on the big screen, in glorious black and white film rather than video. It is the purest and simply best way to catch this film. I have seen it numerous times in all formats and I will be there Friday. If you do not want to take my word for it, try reading this fabulous and telling review by Rober Ebert. Here is one of my favorite segments from his review.
Movies do not change, but their viewers do. When I saw "La Dolce Vita'' in 1960, I was an adolescent for whom "the sweet life'' represented everything I dreamed of: sin, exotic European glamour, the weary romance of the cynical newspaperman. When I saw it again, around 1970, I was living in a version of Marcello's world; Chicago's North Avenue was not the Via Veneto, but at 3 a.m. the denizens were just as colorful, and I was about Marcello's age.
When I saw the movie around 1980, Marcello was the same age, but I was 10 years older, had stopped drinking, and saw him not as a role model but as a victim, condemned to an endless search for happiness that could never be found, not that way. By 1991, when I analyzed the film a frame at a time at the University of Colorado, Marcello seemed younger still, and while I had once admired and then criticized him, now I pitied and loved him. And when I saw the movie right after Mastroianni died, I thought that Fellini and Marcello had taken a moment of discovery and made it immortal. There may be no such thing as the sweet life. But it is necessary to find that out for yourself.
From the IMA's web site:
- Friday, January 16
- 7:00 pm
- Tobias Theater
- Members $4 / Public $8
Welcome to Winter Nights, counterpart to the popular Summer Nights film series. Winter Nights features classic films with familiar names. Before the film, grab cocktails and appetizers at AMP: Art Music People, which occurs every Friday from 5-9 pm.
La Dolce Vita
(1960, dir. Federico Fellini, 180 mins, Italy/France, NR)
Gossip columnist Marcello plays the hero in the Fellini film shot in 1959 along the club and cafe-lined Via Veneto in Rome. Marcello is torn between the allure of the “sweet life” of the Roman social elite and the ambition of being a serious journalist. Punctuated by some of film history’s most memorable scenes, Marcello embarks on an endless search for happiness in an environment oozing with luxury, sin, romance and exoticism. Film shown in 35 mm.Purchase tickets online, by calling 317-955-2339, or at the door.
Who plans on joining me there? Let's all dress the part and grab our selves a drink and enjoy the movie. Be there or...
2 Responses to “La Dolce Vita”
January 15, 2009 at 10:19 AM
I will unfortunately not be able to attend, but strongly second this endorsement. It's an absolutely incredible film.
January 15, 2009 at 7:05 PM
There are a lot of films that could be described as "putting the fartsy in artsy", the kind that leave you feeling either left out, or afraid to not pretend you liked them.
This is NOT one of those. It's a good movie.
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