Fellini

            
             Frederico Fellini's 8 ½: one of the first foreign films I ever viewed. The impact it had upon me is, perhaps, immeasurable. I still struggle to understand it; to make sense of its many symbolic intricacies and nuances. Thus far, I am only prepared to say this: 8 ½ is, without doubt, a film brilliant in the way that it is aware of itself; aware of the role of the filmmaker and, in ways, aware of the particular filmmaker himself: Frederico Fellini. I believe a major theme to be found in 8 ½ is the idea that cinema, its subject and the filmmaker are often times inseparable. The cinematography and mise-en-scene, in particular, contribute to these thematic statements as the narrative unfolds. .
             The first ten minutes of 8 ½, alone, is fraught with material worthy of hundreds of pages of analysis and interpretation. I remember my first viewing of the opening: I knew I was watching something electrical; the images and camera movements seemed so dynamic, so carefully, perfectly and thoughtfully executed that I found it impossible to take my eyes off the screen. The imagery was enigmatic, seemingly inscrutable, but the mystery made me all the more captivated. The only background information necessary to impart is the fact that Fellini had struggled for quite some time to come up with a concept for his next film. After the tremendous success of La Dolce Vita, Fellini felt the pressure of the world upon him as his next project was eagerly anticipated by all. This is important because, as was stated earlier, 8 ½ is very much so aware of its artist "unusually so. The film opens in a traffic jam, where the protagonist, Guido, is trapped in his car amongst a sea of vehicles. The mise-en-scene here enforces a theme of the artist feeling trapped: everything is piled upon each other, the cars have barely an inch between them, relaying an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. 8 ½ is filmed in black and white.