8 1/2 (1963)

A troubled movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies. [imdb]

Nominated for 5 Oscars:

Best Director: Federico Fellini
Best Original Screenplay
Best Foreign Language Film: Italy (WINNER)
Best Art Direction, Black-and-White
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (WINNER)

I've actually seen this on Sunday, but caught between The Lovely Bones and Up in the Air, I didn't get to post about it. But I don't have much to write about 8 1/2 anyway. It's another classic that almost left me cold.

The direction is fine and Fellini really is a visionary in many ways. Anouk Aimee gives the best performance as Luisa, and Marcello Mastroianni is good as always, but doesn't get that much to do. Because this is a one-man show and that man is Fellini, who's direction almost chokes the movie. There are plenty of good ideas in it and philosophically nice, but the message just didn't reach me. I found no connection to the movie or the story, even though I smiled often and admired many times. Best scene: the first Saraghina scene, of course.

My rating for the film: 7/10. The rating is almost randomly chosen. I just don't want to think about it.