Being 61, I cannot escape to compare the structure of 'La Grande Bellezza' (= Italian for 'the great beauty') with that of another momentous Italian film: Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' (= 'the sweet life') from 1960.
Both films are set against Rome's nightlife, and both are carried by a single male wandering somewhat aimlessly through life. The aimless character of their journey is accentuated by a random-like switching from one scene to another. Pictures that are always beautiful, never deep, and certainly never & nowhere thoroughly investigated.
Both films are excellent by their capacity to take the viewer by the hand, leading him or her unconditionally to this beautifully pictured setting. And yes, no place on earth is better suited for such a journey than Rome is -- in 1960 as well as now.
As the Vatican is firmly integrated in this town, one cannot escape its prominent influence in films like these. However, one may say that 'La Grande Bellezza' shows itself much softer and less critical towards the Roman Catholic Church than 'La Dolce Vita' does.
I end my comparisons by mentioning the world-famous night-scene from 'La Dolce Vita', showing Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg in the waters of Rome's Trevi-fountain. When Mastroianni died in 1996, the City of Rome covered Trevi in black cloth, and stopped its waters flowing. I am anxious to see if 'La Grande Bellezza' ever will meet a comparable honor.
Both films are set against Rome's nightlife, and both are carried by a single male wandering somewhat aimlessly through life. The aimless character of their journey is accentuated by a random-like switching from one scene to another. Pictures that are always beautiful, never deep, and certainly never & nowhere thoroughly investigated.
Both films are excellent by their capacity to take the viewer by the hand, leading him or her unconditionally to this beautifully pictured setting. And yes, no place on earth is better suited for such a journey than Rome is -- in 1960 as well as now.
As the Vatican is firmly integrated in this town, one cannot escape its prominent influence in films like these. However, one may say that 'La Grande Bellezza' shows itself much softer and less critical towards the Roman Catholic Church than 'La Dolce Vita' does.
I end my comparisons by mentioning the world-famous night-scene from 'La Dolce Vita', showing Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg in the waters of Rome's Trevi-fountain. When Mastroianni died in 1996, the City of Rome covered Trevi in black cloth, and stopped its waters flowing. I am anxious to see if 'La Grande Bellezza' ever will meet a comparable honor.