8½ 4K 1963

“8½” (1963) is Federico Fellini's reflection on his creative path, expressed in the existential crisis of the protagonist. Fellini's previous major work Sweet Life (1960) just marked the peak of the Italian director's work in the fading era of neorealism.

The movie is autobiographical, about a successful director, Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), preparing to shoot another movie. The problem is that he has neither a script nor an idea, and producers are attacking non-stop. In parallel, the main character has a love drama unfolding - his mistress comes to visit him, and then his wife, who finds out about his infidelity and decides to separate from Guido.

All the events are interspersed with the director's dreams and memories of his childhood, perfectly executed in terms of editing and scene construction. This becomes his key to resolving the crisis - Guido decides to make a movie about his life and experiences - his childhood (Catholic school, crazy dancer), his relationships with women (wife, lover).

At first, it may seem that Guido is a cornered, unhappy creator. This especially resonates with those viewers who are familiar with creative agony and burning deadlines. However, the protagonist's thrashing is just an attempt to bring his state to the point of absurdity, when the situation is heated to the limit and it is impossible to stop the running process. It is about loss of control, about the desire to remove responsibility, and about self-exploration, to which anyone can be subjected, not only a famous director. But does a figure like Fellini, or rather Anselmi, have the right to flounder and hide? Does he belong to himself in his reflection or does his talent and genius oblige him to serve?

The very fact of the existence of the film “8½” confirms that, yes, the creator has the right to go into the darkest and most distant corners of his soul and mind, to extract the least attractive bits from there, to close himself off from the world or even to make a movie about it. The conclusion that follows at the end of the movie is very simple - it is to stay true to yourself and keep love for your loved ones.

Separately we would like to pay attention to the way women are presented in Fellini's film. Throughout most of the picture, there was a feeling that the heroines here are either stupid or hysterical. And they act, rather, as attendants of Guido's creative endeavors and his unloved inner child. Only the director's wife can claim depth here, who influences his decisions and destiny, just as Fellini's wife (Giulietta Mazina) inspired him, becoming a true muse for him. Guido, on the other hand, searches for answers about himself through his love for his wife and through the pain he has caused her.

Mastroianni's performance and the work of the camerawork and art department clothed the author's idea in a black-and-white tragicomedy, in which everyone can find something different. This is what makes the 1960s movie relevant to this day.