University of Virginia Library

Moral Problem

Consider "8½" and "Juliet of the
Spirits." In these films, Fellini has a
strong central character, who at the
end of the film has faced and
overcome a moral and personal
problem. The director of "8½"
learns to live with his real life and
his fantasies, while Juliet liberates
herself from the crippling aspects of
Catholicism and fears of sexual and
emotional freedom. Both films are
optimistic and human. In "Satyricon"
Fellini ends the film with a
freeze which dissolves into a fresco
of the principal characters. Very
photographic, but does this tell us a
thing about the characters? It
appears that Fellini doesn't know
what will happen to them, and
therefore neither will we.

Of course, the characters in
other Fellini films are human beings
and are treated as such. In "Satyricon"
we are shown a minotaur and
demigod and characters that are
objects. There is a detachment not
only from the characters, but
throughout the entire film, as if
Fellini couldn't care for his project.
This is the picture's greatest flaw;
either Fellini's personal interest is
totally lacking or the meaning of
the film is so personal that nobody
but Fellini can understand it. From
the looks of "Satyricon," it appears
that Fellini's mind is messed up
too.

***

The Barracks Road this week
has a tear-jerking double bill, both
of which have graced the silver
screens of C'ville before, and are
hence not candidates for review.
The first film is "Charly," with
Cliff Robertson. This is a corny
story about a moron who becomes
a genius. Robertson's acting, with
considerable assistance from Claire
Bloom, saves the show. Also showing
is "Jenny," or "That Girl Gets
PG." This is a delightful yarn about
an unwed mother who decides to
keep it. After being conditioned by
Marlo Thomas' television acting, I
don't know if I can swallow that
pill.

Downtown at the Paramount,
there's a revival of "2001." This
spaced-out epic adventure probably
has done more to contribute to
pre-movie smoking than any other
film, excepting "Fantasia," and
maybe "Duck Soup." Aside from
all that, the film is though provoking
and has interesting performances
by HAL and the monkeys,
and a nonperformance by Keir Dullea
as MAN.