The coming of age, finding yourself and defining yourself - these are all things we face growing up. For dreamer and filmmaker Federico Fellini, his semi-autobiographical film of growing up in a small sea side town is taken in a surrealistic tone with his 1973 masterpiece, Amarcord. The word amaracord is not even Italian or of national language, it is a made of dialect word which translates to "I Remember," which is what the film represents, a series of episodic and scrolling stories of coming of age. Growing up during World War II, Fellini learned and lived in a time he was trying to find his footing during adolescents. Amarcord captures all of this in a very funny and satirical look at what it was like seeing the world through a small town during hard times. Unlike Fellini's other semi-autobiographical films I Vitelloni and 8 1/2, it takes a more comical and adorable approach to his story telling than we are normally used to, while still keeping it his own. With its look at supple women, a small family, crazy neighbors and huge sexual overtones, Amaracord is Fellini in his technicolor finest. Taking home the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1975, Amaracord is a visual and social film to treasure over and over again.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Movie of the Month - Amarcord
The coming of age, finding yourself and defining yourself - these are all things we face growing up. For dreamer and filmmaker Federico Fellini, his semi-autobiographical film of growing up in a small sea side town is taken in a surrealistic tone with his 1973 masterpiece, Amarcord. The word amaracord is not even Italian or of national language, it is a made of dialect word which translates to "I Remember," which is what the film represents, a series of episodic and scrolling stories of coming of age. Growing up during World War II, Fellini learned and lived in a time he was trying to find his footing during adolescents. Amarcord captures all of this in a very funny and satirical look at what it was like seeing the world through a small town during hard times. Unlike Fellini's other semi-autobiographical films I Vitelloni and 8 1/2, it takes a more comical and adorable approach to his story telling than we are normally used to, while still keeping it his own. With its look at supple women, a small family, crazy neighbors and huge sexual overtones, Amaracord is Fellini in his technicolor finest. Taking home the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1975, Amaracord is a visual and social film to treasure over and over again.
