8 ½ Analysis

8 ½

Directed by: Federico Fellini

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni

Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1963 and Best Costume Design

This film is about creative block, specifically a filmmaker's block in this case which Fellini himself faced after the success of La Dolce Vita - and he ended up making a classic out of it. This film is surrealist, it uses abstract visuals to depict his psychological state. The terrific opening sequence is where he is stuck in traffic and people around are stuffed in vehicles - he is trying to get out it which depicts suffocation and then we see he being asphyxiated in the sky - a more bizzare visual of suffocation which wakes him up from his dream. It's inherently about a director's creativity not finding space to breath after a success when there is lot of expectation from the producers, critics, cast, crew and the audience. This sequence doesn't seem intimidating because it's just a dream sequence, but going forward we see more abstract imagery. The best part about this film is, even though the setting of the film is film - it doesn't make it inaccessible to non-film people too by using a lot of film specific jargon. It is about any creative block, told through the lens of a filmmaker. There have been a lot of imitations of this, Woody Allen's Stardust Memories; the recent Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory, Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation and a huge chunk of Hong Sang-soo's filmography. When filmmakers make films about themselves, we can see idiosyncratic storytelling, a strong sense of individuality and often the stories are unique or at least told in a unique way. When the filmmakers make films about themselves as filmmakers, it can be the most self indulgent it can ever get and I can only imagine how complicated it can be to decide what not to write - because there would surely be a lot to write.

The scenes are shot and edited in a way, that we can feel the chaos around that Guido is feeling as well. The pans, the tilts and the motion felt so seamless - it felt like I was watching a film made recently. The cinematographer of the film is Gianni di Venanzo who is also a collaborator with Michelangelo Antonioni whose films are known for their striking visuals. There is a scene where Guido is going in a car with another woman and the lighting of that stood out to me, light falls only on the eyes of Guido while the other's person's entire face is lit. In spite of the abstract storytelling, there is a sense of story in this film - although it is told through dialogue/voice over in a revelatory way that he has to accept his life for what it is. European films have that notoriety for having style over substance - by saying that people want to discourage filmmakers who try to push visual storytelling. Film is beyond story - definitely storytelling is a huge part of filmmaking but sometimes it can just be evoking emotions out of random visuals or shots. A lot of times, everyone won't experience the same way, especially to abstract imagery. There is this short travel video, 'Watchtower of Turkey', it is a compilation of a lot of shots, done with speed ramping and fast cuts - I had goosebumps while watching it and a lot of people I showed it to, felt nothing. Let's stay open to that, if you love cinema - try cinema that you think you might not enjoy and see how it will surprise you.