Amazon.com Essentials:
Federico Fellini's 1963 semi-autobiographical story about a
worshipped filmmaker who has lost his inspiration is still a
mesmerizing
mystery tour that has been quoted (Woody Allen's Stardust
Memories,
Paul
Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland) but never duplicated. Marcello
Mastroianni
plays Guido, a director trying to relax a bit in the wake of his latest
hit.
Besieged by people eager to work with him, however, he also struggles
to
find
his next idea for a film. The combined pressures draw him within
himself,
where his recollections of significant events in his life and the many
lovers
he has left behind begin to haunt him. The marriage of Fellini's
hyperreal
imagery, dreamy sidebars, and the gravity of Guido's increasing guilt
and
self-awareness make this as much a deeply moving, soulful film as it is
an
electrifying spectacle. Mastroianni is wonderful in the lead, his woozy
sensitivity to Guido's freefall both touching and charming--all the
more so
as the character becomes increasingly divorced from the celebrity hype
that
ultimately outpaces him. --Tom Keogh
