8 1/2

Like most neophyte film buffs, I had heard of Fellini, but something kept me from seeing any of his movies. Today I watched 8 1/2, probably his most famous film.

My gut reaction was something like "Oh, that's what that movie is referencing." The list of other movies that reference sequences from 8 1/2 is endless. But it really is a head trip. Sometimes you can't tell if your watching a movie about a guy or a guy in a movie, or maybe it's not a movie at all and it's really a documentary of the filmmaker's process. It's every dream sequence that's been in every other medium, but amped up times a thousand.

The story goes that Fellini was stuck in between movies and couldn't decide how to finish a production, so he wrote a story about a famous film director in the same situation. On the surface, it's a semi-autobiographical story of a man in a midlife crisis, but it explores lots of different themes. Childhood innocence, the objectification, brutalization, and eventually celebration and an almost deification of women. The stress of a lover, the triviality and nuisance of a business, the pain of trying to make art while making money for yourself and your boss. The film is 45 years old, but its themes resonate today.

I finally see what I think everyone else sees, it's a truly brilliant film. Get it and get in touch with your inner angst, then throw a party where everyone gets to dance and live life to its fullest.

Technical note: The version I watched was the Criterion Collection DVD from Netflix with an introduction by Terry Gilliam (you know, the genius behind all the Monty Python animations and 12 Monkeys). But don't watch the introduction until after the movie because it has some spoilers.