My twentieth year was the most transformative of my life, so far. The same year that I discovered Mulholland Drive (which led to Eraserhead) and Jules and Jim, I also attended a screening of Federico Fellini's 1963 film, 8 1/2. Seeing two films that still hold top spots on my list of cinematic favorites would have been enough to satisfy me all year. It's a bit unfathomable to me now, knowing how much that one professor exposed me to that have become permanent mainstays in my life, that it all happened in a year. 8 1/2 represented a world that I didn't know existed. The story of a creative, seeking respite after success, only to be met with the immediate expectation that he will bring about another success as there are now a number of other creatives and business personnel that depend on him was instantly intriguing. A filmmaker, played exquisitely by Marcello Mastroianni, unable to come up with a new idea and faced with the possibility that he may be a disappointment to those dependent on him for the first time, he begins to reminisce on the people of his past and imagining the various trajectories his life could have followed. Losing artistic direction for the film at hand, the director retreats completely to his dreams.
Fellini didn't just create a world through 8 1/2, he also created a mood, a feeling, and an appreciation for a side of filmmaking that the average movie-goer will never experience. When considering my favorite worlds of cinema, those places wherein we feel so comfortable entering that provide such genuine enjoyment, 8 1/2 always tops the list. It's not simply the sets and overall production design that make me so eager to revisit Fellini's masterpiece, but it is the exuberance for film that he is able to project. Other filmmakers have made stand-out films about the behind-the-scenes aspects of filmmaking, Francois Truffaut's Day for Night and Stanley Donen's Singin' in the Rain come to mind. Fellini's 8 1/2 embodies the same spirit of honoring the movies while showing the struggles of the creative minds behind the films we love. Fellini invites you to this world anew each time you watch his film. No matter how many times I see 8 1/2, I am forever mesmerized by its power and emotional impact. Much of the humor in the film I missed when I was 20, and many of the situations I couldn't relate to as I can now, making each successive rewatch all the more worthwhile. I had to stop counting the number of perfect shots in the film, shots that I would gladly frame and fill my house with because there are simply too many to highlight. Gorgeous, robust, and spellbinding, 8 1/2 is one of those films I can watch anytime, and still marvel at its existence as if it was the first viewing.
Fellini didn't just create a world through 8 1/2, he also created a mood, a feeling, and an appreciation for a side of filmmaking that the average movie-goer will never experience. When considering my favorite worlds of cinema, those places wherein we feel so comfortable entering that provide such genuine enjoyment, 8 1/2 always tops the list. It's not simply the sets and overall production design that make me so eager to revisit Fellini's masterpiece, but it is the exuberance for film that he is able to project. Other filmmakers have made stand-out films about the behind-the-scenes aspects of filmmaking, Francois Truffaut's Day for Night and Stanley Donen's Singin' in the Rain come to mind. Fellini's 8 1/2 embodies the same spirit of honoring the movies while showing the struggles of the creative minds behind the films we love. Fellini invites you to this world anew each time you watch his film. No matter how many times I see 8 1/2, I am forever mesmerized by its power and emotional impact. Much of the humor in the film I missed when I was 20, and many of the situations I couldn't relate to as I can now, making each successive rewatch all the more worthwhile. I had to stop counting the number of perfect shots in the film, shots that I would gladly frame and fill my house with because there are simply too many to highlight. Gorgeous, robust, and spellbinding, 8 1/2 is one of those films I can watch anytime, and still marvel at its existence as if it was the first viewing.