8½ (1963)
#10 on Sight&Sounds "50 Greatest Films of All Time" in 2012
dir. Federico Fellini [nom.]
writer. Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano & Brunello Rondi [nom.]
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée and Sandra Milo

ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS: famous Italian director Guido Anselmi (Mastroianni) is suffering from "director's block", seeking inspiration from luxurious spas, grand hotels, parties, from God, from critics, and even in the arms of beautiful women, despite his marriage to Luisa (Aimée)

"I wanted to make an honest film. No lies whatsoever. I thought I had something so simple to say. Something useful to everyone. A film to help bury forever all the dead things we carry around inside." ~ Guido

THOUGHTS: This is often cited as one of the greatest movies ever made, so I was excited to finally watch it. Two minutes in I was concerned: after choking on smoke in a car while a woman in a neighbouring car bares her breast, the lead then flies off into the sky (genuinely NOT kidding) and now he’s on horseback on a beach, except he's not on horseback, he's floating in the sky and the guy on the horse is controlling him like a kite. THANKFUL this absurdity stopped (for the most part) and the film began to pick up. I have to be honest, as someone who is dyslexic subtitled films aren’t always an easy experience for me. I have to focus a lot. And the downside of Italian actors on film is they a) emote from their head to their toes b) talk very, very quickly. And in this film, sadly, there is A LOT of dialogue. So I’m not only having to read lots of dialogue very quickly, but I’m missing huge parts of their performance because I can’t see what they are doing physically. An hour in I realised how little time I’d spent watching the actual movie because I was so busy reading the subtitles. And for such a visual director as Fellini, that’s a great shame. Some moments still stood out: the sci-fi rocket silhouetted at night against the flood-lights, the circus coming to town, the wisdom of the cardinal in the bathhouse. But so much was missed. Added to that... I just didn’t buy the concept. At all. Maybe cinema has changed so much since the 60s, but I don’t believe a film would have hired all the actors (keeping them in a hotel for weeks), building all the sets and props... and yet the director hasn’t even got a script or knows who is playing what role. It just didn’t feel truthful. Plus I'm not sure how to feel about a film seemingly lauding the creative process and 'art' of a director's mind, while being so dismissive with the actors demanding to see the script, saying they "need time to live as the character". The film treated their feelings as a nuances, and that felt like a rather colossal double standard. Why is his process so sacred, and theirs so inconvenient? And I haven't decided how I feel about the fantasy scenes. I appreciate they were trying to explore how a director's mind works; and it blended truth and fiction very creatively, the point you don't know if he's dead at the end. But it didn't fully click for me. It occurred to me watching this if they turned it into a musical, and the day dreams became the songs (akin to Chicago (2002)) that could be fabulous... ONLY TO FIND OUT there is a Broadway musical called Nine (based off Fellini's 8½) that does exactly that. And to add to the kismet of the idea Rob Marshall (who directed Chicago) ALSO directed the film adaptation Nine (2009). Ha! Great minds, I guess?

OVERALL
I didn’t dislike this film, I just feel I didn’t understand it. Maybe in years to come if I watch it again, I'll find appreciation for it, akin to with the Godfather (1972); which I didn't love until the third viewing. Until said time: the costumes and set by Piero Gherardi were beautiful (and he rightly won the Oscar), the concept of the film was bold and creative... I just didn't feel any connection. To any part of it.
★★★☆☆ [grade: B]