When I watch 8½ by Fellini, I am reminded of why spontaneous reactions don't necessarily determine whether a film is good or bad. As a matter of fact, this film bugged the shit out of me. Almost every scene irritated me and when I was beginning to hope that it would soon be over, another repetitive, loud twist followed. On a psychological level, I really hated this movie (I waited for the end just as badly as I waited for the closing credits of Kundun - which is top of my list of worst movies ever made). Is this a rambling film? YES IT IS! But I am still glad that I didn't stop watching it.
So, Fellini's film follows the ambling consciousness of a chauvinistic & self-obsessed, yet completely blank-seeming, director, Guido, who is intent on making a movie. If he is only to come by an idea. The film is a presentation of non-ideas, stream-of-consciousness, fantasy sequences, memories, etc. Scenes drift in and out of each other, and it does not really matter what is reality and what is not. A hord of women surrounds the great Guido, all of them, for some unexplicable reason, strangely attracted to this boring man.
What I am trying to say is that this film might be interesting because it is so artificial, but it was certainly not enjoyable for me to watch. For me, the most outrageous scenes (involving space ships and the most quiet ones were the best. I am willing to acknowledge 8½ as a rather successful parody of the self-indulged auteur, the film industry and cosmopolitan European life. And, sure, it was a rather entertaining questioning of what a movie should be. But that dimension of the film has aged a great deal, and is not really revolutionary when watching it today.
The problem is that I cannot really settle on any description. Is it as self-indulged as the main character? Is it sexist? Is it shallow? I don't know.
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