La Dolce Vita

This Fellini movie from 1960 (our first Fellinin) is often regarded, along with his '81/2', as one of the greatest film of all time. That sounds about right.
The movie is long and lacks a coherent, tight, or linear narrative structure. This mirrors beautifully what is happening in the film; our lead lives this life of disparate women, disparate charms, moments of moments of pleasure, happiness and sadness. What is really going on? This film will not reveal all on first viewing, perhaps ever, all the better for it. We are taken in by the exuberance of the peripatetic plot to emphasis the lead's own life, following him and identifying through both this narrative structure and partly through the frequent, slight aslant, shots of him. He trys to evade the viewer but we see him.
The themes, of the beauty and joys of hedonism, are wonderfully explored but actually making the fun parties fun. Fellini is a master at creating rythm within a scene, drawing the viewer in and making them laugh, feel sumptuous, see and feel beauty along with our characters. It is, after all very good film (a harder trick than many to pull off, making a three hour film generally fun to watch insofaras rich people wanderinga round parties).
Our lead plays well, shot well by Fellini. In fact the way this film is shot fascinates; we are still not quite sure what Fellini is up to. A large proportion of the film does not seem much more than 'techincally' shot, i.e. to get the people and the incidents in frame. He doesn't like cuts, though this isn't taken to extremes, and for whatever reason has a habit of moving the camera along dollys, to follow Marcello largely, rather than keeping it still. And then we have these wonderful, wide tableaus that reming one almost of a great renaissance painting. The mixture of greys takes used to, but once that is in place in these long shots we appreicate the expert blocking, lounging, effortless form and balance of Fellini's images. Is there a 'point' to these wonderful photgraphs (Greenaway has been taking notes)? Then again, is there a point to any beauty, as this film asks?
The film becomes a deeply powerful, disturbing, intellectually crushing and monumental piece, that is almost a morality tale and almost a study of existential despair. We have no clear routes, what is this 'original nature', who is the girl on the beach? What is going on with the fish? The scene of the final party, the orgy of destruction, is incredibly uncomfortable, on a tightrope between so many things. It almost reminds one of the that despair distilled in a moment at the end of 'Vertigo', but here drawn over the last two hours.
This is a film that is both very fun to watch, contains beautiful photography, and is profound regarding questions that other filmaker (and all artisits) would unconsciously deem to 'personal', inaccesible to art. Fellini manages to go there, on what a journey. Stunning.