Amarcord (1973)

Federico Fellini is one of those filmmakers that I am not allowed to avoid as an enthusiast, and while I can certainly appreciate his otherworldly genre and his profound effect on cinema, his films can be rather tedious to watch.

Amarcord - one of his best known films - portrays a small Italian town as fascism and World War II pass by. The town is steeped in legend and crawling with wild-eyed characters, not the least of whom is Volpina the prostitute who swaggers in and out of scenes in her red dress. The town is the protagonist and a narrator shares tales with the viewer.

I enjoyed the film for its historical portrayal of Italy and the moments of comedy. Felllini's assertion that Italy's innocence and character remained despite Mussolini and having foreign military forces on their soil is clearly the message. I did not find myself overly drawn into the characters however and the music, as immortalized as it is, was awfully repetitive.

IMDB