La dolce vita (1960)

VHS CASE/SIDE

Length of film:  174 Minutes

Rated: X

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Director: Federico Fellini

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux, Magali Noël, Alain Cuny

IMDB Rank: 8/10

Part 1 Time:  88 Minutes

Part 2 Time:  86 Minutes

*** The film does not include an official intermission title screen, but does include an ‘intermezzo’ scene. For this reason the split of the film following episode 3b prior to the intermezzo scene.

Where does the first part end? Steiner (Alain Cuny) checks in on his two children who are sleeping.

Final line of dialogue on the first part: “We should learn to love each other so much to live outside of time, detached… detached,” Steiner seems to be speaking to Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni).

First line of dialogue on the second part: “I can’t spend my life calling you on the phone!” Marcello Rubini speaks on the phone at a seaside restaurant.

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal/ Somewhat, the film breaks following an interesting monologue by Steiner. Steiner has the “sweet life” (is wealthy, has a wife, has children, has secure employment) but seems relatively unhappy still. Marcello on the other hand, searches for the “sweet life.” Will Marcello find what truly makes him happy?

Which part is better? The film primarily documents the seven days and nights of tabloid journalist Marcello Rubini who journeys through the “sweet life” of Rome (with the 8th night sequence happening some years later). Both parts show Rubini’s search for love and happiness and the existential struggle of working within the different facets of society. Part two is given the slight edge as the events portrayed in this section ultimately lead to Marcello Rubini abandoning the “sweet life.”

Academy Awards: Best Costume Design- Black and White, Best Art Direction- Black and White Decoration (Nominated), Best Writing- Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Nominated), Best Director (Nominated)

Other Awards: 1960 Palme d’Or (Winner)