Rating of
4/4
What Dolce Vita?
Jeremy - wrote on 01/19/11
Fellini's La Dolce Vita is the story of the loss of hope in modern society. Our protagonist, Marcello, is constantly driven to seek happiness by attempting to live vicariously through those around him who appear to be happy. The tragedy of course is that those who he tries to follow example of, turn out to be hiding secret lives of misery, many of which end in terrible tragedy. While it may sound obscenely depressing, Fellini does not drag us down with Marcello, he allows us to examine his flaws as well as those around him. Fellini also adds an occasionally joyous sense of fun and humor to the film, especially through the antics of Anita Ekberg. As the film goes on we come to understand the root of Marcello's problem more and more; perhaps there is no "Dolce Vita". We are slowly pulled into a world of the strange and surreal and finally a freakish party of cross dressing, strip teases, and everything bizzare. We are come to believe that the values of modern society which force us to model our lives after those around us are hopeless, and ultimately prevent a person from experience a truly happy existence.
