8 1/2

8 1/2 - 1963

Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Players: Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo
IMDB #155 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/]

The Gist:
8 1/2 is an odd film to sum up because on the surface not a lot happens. We have our protagonist, Guido, who is going through a severe artistic block. He staggers through the opening moments of a lofty film production which he has lost his inspiration for. He attempts to find his inspiration in women. His wife, his mistress, his friend's mistress, some random woman he occasionally sees at the hotel, a woman named Claudia who I don't actually think is real (an odd distinction in a film like this), and so on. Apparently, his relationship with women and his artistic vision are directly related. You get the impression that his success in the past has been shaped by different muses (something Woody Allen can relate to). While he is going through this sort of crisis, the film weaves in and out of dream sequences, often blurring the lines between the reality of the film and what is in the character's head. As the film climaxes it seems to leave the more concrete world altogether, growing more and more abstract and self-aware. And self-aware is the key word. It's hard to get a beat on this film because of how self-aware it is. When I see something that I think is a little pretentious, but then the film itself calls it pretentious, what am I to think? In the end, the fictional production falls apart and the protagonist comes to a realization that he wants his life to be honest and true. But who knows if this is not another lie for the sake of a beautiful line in a film?

Why This Movie Kills:
Viewing this film, you have to deal with a lot of baggage: the word "meta-film" being tossed around, making the distinction between reality and fiction, and so on. How much of the womanizing is a true depiction of the director, did he and his wife really separate and if so is he trying to come to terms with his shortcomings through this film? I haven't looked into it because I frankly don't want to know. I have a personal philosophy when it comes to film, in that I try to know as little of the artist's life as possible. This is so I can judge the work of art as an individual entity without the artist's experiences or behavior coloring it for me. Of course with a project like this it makes it difficult, because I know the title of the film refers to it being Fellini's 8 1/2 film (he co-directed one with someone thus making the half). I also know that he had "director's block" preceding the film and that the childhood sequences came from his own childhood. This all suggests a deeply autobiographical project. On top of that, there's a moment in the film where the protagonist director is on screen watching screen tests of someone who will be playing a character closely resembling his wife, talking about real problems in their relationship while his actual wife is sitting in the same theater, watching this unfold. The viewer is left wondering if there was a "real" wife watching, viewing those same real problems between her and the actual director. The film almost forces that question on you with its brazen references to the autobiographical quality. This has an oddly abstruse effect, making the viewer question the authenticity of the project. But that depth is what makes the film unique. In the end, the important thing is that you do feel this film is deeply felt. You get the protagonist's desperation, great insecurity, and alienation and find him pitiable and fascinating. Beyond that the film says something greatly personal about the nature of art and how it is poisoned by intellectualism and unfair expectations. In this film, art has become something that can only be given worth by others around Guido. This is the path toward destruction. Art is and always should be a personal venture, something to be given for better or worse to the public without great influence on the artist. There can only be one vision, and a man who is trying to make something that will say something to someone else will never make anything of worth. He will only do so by saying something that has meaning for himself alone. 8 1/2, if nothing else, speaks to this beautifully.

On Another Note:
With a film like this, you can't really get a full appreciation from only one viewing. Likewise, it is a film that is intentionally abstract so I infer meaning which relates more to myself and probably less to the artist's intent. For instance, the ending of the last paragraph ignores the fact that Guido seems to be out of things to say. He is gathering random memories from his childhood and his life and clumping them together, hoping that some meaning will just come from their assemblage. He does this instead of having a meaning, but the process eventually leads to a convoluted mindfuck about the artistic process and his conscious anxiety over realizing this fact. With this comes actual meaning, meaning from the desperate search for meaning. It's actually a beautiful concept. What I take issue with, though, is the idea that he must create great art. That if he fails he will have destroyed himself. For me, I think art should be an exploration. There should be room for failures, failures make things more interesting. Perfection is boring. That's why this film, in and of itself, is fascinating. It's a great experiment in narrative story telling. Unfortunately, you get the feeling that the director's failures were internalized and we can only glimpse them through the greater clarity of the final project. It might make for a better film in most regards, but there's something to seeing more of the raw struggle.

Anyway there's a lot of shit I could talk about with this film and take up a few more pages. I just went with what I found most interesting about it.