Italy in the 1960’s seems to have been very similar to America in the 1960’s. Protest and the mentality of peace and love as depicted in La Dolce Vita seem to have been common. Much like America, there was a cultural revolution. Women finally gained the right to abortion, gay and lesbian movements were started and divorces became more acceptable. Italy was changing during this time period, not only were they moving forward socially, but they were also trying to hold on to the past to keep regional traditions alive.
I know that the articles talked about if La Dolce Vita should be considered Neorealist or not, but to be completely honest, I don’t think that I completely understand what Neorealism is. I thought that Neorealism was supposed to show things how they really are- almost documentary style. However I don’t believe that La Dolce Vita does that. I think that La Dolce Vita shows an exaggerated version of the world as Fellini sees it. I think that he is trying to convey the message to people that the road Italy is heading down is not very moral. Also because of the way Fellini is so creative and uses so many symbols I don’t see how that fits into Neorealism. Then again I could be completely mistaken about what Neorealism is and may need to edit this blog entry….

Life Is Beautiful Part 2

I have finally finished watching Life Is Beautiful, and my opinion of the movie has changed dramatically. While I still wish that I had seen the movie with sub titles, I no longer believe that Gudio’s humor takes away from the story. In fact I think that his ability to maintain a sense of optimisms throughout the movie is apart of the story. The movie was incredibly sad, and I could not believe that Gudio died at the end. But I loved how Joshua was picked up in the tank.
After reading the articles on the Holocaust, I’m not sure how I feel about that aspect of the movie. Yes, it is in a way offending that Benigni played down the horrors of the Holocaust, but at the same time is it possible to reproduce them? I also think that this movie was not intended to offend anyone, rather to make the point that no matter how bad life is, there is always good in it. In fact, Levi says just that in his article, and he is a survivor of the Holocaust.

Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful
So far I have only seen the first half of the movie, and honestly I am a bit confused. The humor in the movie, although it is deliberate seems to take away from the plot, which seems more serious. The humor is childish am seems more fitting for a Saturday morning cartoon then a movie dealing with Fascist Italy at the verge of World War II. The version of the movie that I watched is dubbed over in English. The voices are done is horrible fake Italian accents that make it hard to take anyone seriously. It seems as if the movie could have a truly heartwarming love story set along with the drama of the war- but the voices and the humor ruins the mood of the movie for me. I also feel as if the filming of the movie is weak. I have yet to see any breath taking shots- but I am only half through the movie so maybe something impressive is up ahead.

The Garden of the Finizi-Continis

The Garden of the Finizi-Continis directed by De Sica, is perhaps my favorite movie that we have seen so far in this class. But in all honesty, I could not tell you what it was about the movie that I enjoyed so much. I thought that the acting was weak along with the character development. I know that in neorealism films it is common to use unprofessional actors, but I feel as if sometimes the unprofessional actors take away from the movie. Those actors always seem to have the same expression on their faces throughout the movie, like Micol. I also hated the ending of the movie. Not only was it sad, but it just kinda ended. Without much closure; I personally enjoy closure at the end of the movie.
But besides all of that, I really enjoyed the movie. I thought that the story was interesting, if not a bit confusing. And for the first time I really appreciated the cinematography of the movie. One of my favorite scenes was the first one, when everyone was riding their bikes to go and play tennis. I loved how that scene was shot. My other favorite scene was during Passover when the Finizi-Continis were trying to predict the future with the cup that Micol brought from Venice. The last shot in that scene were you see the glass and the persons face in the reflection of the table was amazing. It was eerie and almost sent chills up my spine. I only wish that I knew what happened after the movie was over.

Bicycle Thieves

The Bicycle Thieves, directed by De Sica, follows the story of a man on the hunt to find his stolen bicycle. After finally receiving a job, Antonio Ricci must buy back his bicycle in order to keep his job hanging up posters. While hanging up one of his posters his bicycle is stolen.
What I found most interesting in this movie is the relationship between Antonio and his son Bruno. Bruno, unlike his father has had a job for sometime, even though he is still a young child. It is obvious that Bruno looks up to his father, for the fact that Antonio is his father, but for no other reason. There are moments in the movie when Bruno is even ashamed of his father because of how desperate he becomes in the search for his bicycle.
In a movie like this, where the main character loses everything, I feel as if I should feel for him, but instead I feel like he deserves what he got. I don’t know if it was because I couldn’t relate to Antonio that I didn’t feel bad for him, or if it was just because I thought he was a self-absorbed jerk.