AMARCORD Review Pt.2 – Bruno Zanin, Magali Noël

Federico Fellini's Amarcord

AMARCORD Review: Part I

That most of the characters in the film, save one or two, either love or are indifferent to the Fascists is not a latter-day bourgeois forgiveness of their crimes, but a reflection of reality as it was in the 1930s. True, after the Fascists plunged Italy into the ruinous Second World War, they became reviled, but in the '20s and '30s they were seen as saviors of the nation, for they lifted it out of the economic doldrums of the post-Great War period.

Even if some of the critics were correct — not only on the film's approach to Fascism, but also on its depiction of the generation gap, the worthlessness of the school system, or the uncaring nature of the Roman Catholic Church — they would still miss the whole point of Amarcord. For what we see is not Italy as it was in the 1930s, but Italy as remembered, and remembered by Fellini alone.

The terrific scenes are many. There is the Biondi family's picnic outing with crazy Uncle Teo (Ciccio Ingrassia), who's let out from the insane asylum for a day. He first pisses in his pants, and then climbs an apple tree, shouting, "I want a woman!" until the doctors and a midget nun get him down. There is also the snowfall scene where a peacock appears out of nowhere, and the fog scene where a white bull similarly appears for no reason.

There is Titta's and his pal's obsession with the asses of women, especially Gradisca's, as well as their joint masturbation sessions. There is Gradisca's search for love and Volpina's (Josiane Tanzilli) search for sex. There is the marital woes of Papa (Armando Brancia) and Mama Biondi (Pupella Maggio), and then her death.

There are the fantasy sequences at the hotel, narrated by the Lawyer (Luigi Rossi) — one of several Fourth Wall breakers. Also, the fantasy marriage of fat boy Ciccio to sexy Aldina at the behest of the floral image of Mussolini, and the townsfolk rowing out to see the fantastical America-bound luxury liner, The Rex.

Nino Rota's score is the best thing in the film, though Giuseppe Rotunno's cinematography is not far behind, especially in the sunset scene where Uncle Teo is coaxed down from the apple tree and back to the asylum.

The Criterion Collection's two-disc DVD is a great improvement on the 1998 single-disc edition. It is a radiant film transfer, and thankfully the film comes with not only subtitles but in an dubbed English version as well.

The first disc has Amarcord, the American trailer, and an audio commentary by film scholars Peter Brunette and Frank Burke, in addition to a deleted scene of a lost ring in a toilet. Though mostly solid, the commentary at times suffers from the duo's reading way too much into the film, even as they decry the very same thing done by others.

Disc two has the 45-minute documentary Fellini's Homecoming, an interview with Magali Noël, a gallery of Fellini's drawings of the film's characters, a collection of stills and radio ads, and audio interviews with Fellini and others, which had been conducted by Fellini cohort Gideon Bachmann. Also included are a video restoration demonstration, and a 63-page booklet with the full text of Fellini's 1967 essay "My Rimini" and an essay by film scholar Sam Rohdie.

In sum, Amarcord succeeds because its totality is greater than any of its parts. It may not be a great film, but it is a great display of artistic excellence, as the director marshals countless disparate elements into a film that succeeds far more often than it doesn't. In Amarcord, Federico Fellini shows he is a great artist even when his art is not exactly great.

© Dan Schneider

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of Mr. Schneider, and they may not reflect the views of Alt Film Guide.