The Sweet Life
1960
Directed by Federico Fellini
I have a history of not liking Fellini films so when I popped this one in awhile ago, I expected the same old routine: be both confused and irritated by the film and then struggle to write a review longer than those two words. However, this is probably my favorite Fellini film. Of course, I have low expectations but I still think this is worth a watch.
It would be too hard to try to explain this movie; it is mostly composed of vignettes. Each character is living what seems like a "sweet life" but in reality, is dirty and dull. I have always loved movies or books that explore the dark side of rich people's lives. I find it interesting to see how far boredom will take people. That is probably the main reason I liked this film, so if that doesn't interest you, you might want to skip it.
Then again, there are so many iconic scenes in this film (hot girl in fountain, Jesus statue, etc.) that it is pretty essential viewing for any movie buff.
Like I said, the story was mostly good (I think the film could have been trimmed a bit) and the acting was decent. Not great but I least I don't actively hate this one.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
The term "paparazzi" comes from this film. The photographer in the movie is named Paparazzo.
Roger Ebert's favorite movie.
Fountain scene:
A lot of people like La Dolce Vita, but I am not one of those. I respect it, but I do not like it. It is still too much Fellini, too incoherent.
ReplyDeleteAlso they killed two children. That is minus two hundred points in my book.
Yeah, definitely does not live to the hype.
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