The amusing and entertaining adventures of a recently released mental patient (Roberto Benigni) and his band of misfits, discover conspiracies to concur while looking for love.
Acclaimed director Federico Fellini wrote a short treatment for this film in two weeks with his long-time scribe Tullio Pinelli as early as summer 1988. Returning to themes they first explored in "La strada" (1954), the duo crafted a parable on the whisperings of the soul that only madmen and vagabonds are capable of hearing.
The film screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, where it was panned, misunderstood and/or ignored by the majority of North American critics. One critic boasted, "Absolutely ravishing. I've never been so bored in my life". Ultimately, Fellini's last film became his first never to find a North American distributor. At least until 2017 (more on that shortly).
One might think this is the sort of film that would grow in reputation over time. Those who saw it in 1990 likely did not know this was the final Fellini, and that alone should give it a special place in our hearts. Yet, critic Michael Scott pulls no punches when he calls the film "an unwanted, undercooked, post-meal main course, just as you are ready to slip into your pyjamas." He also says it is "the best example yet of the train wreck that can occur when you give a visionary unquestioned creative control but take away his glasses; it looks stunning but is nigh on incomprehensible."
He does concede however that the "visuals ... rank up there with the most impressive of Fellini's entire body of work." Herein lies what, I think, makes the film worth a second (or third) look. The color scheme is striking, especially on the new (2017) Arrow Films Blu-ray with a new scan. The blend of fantasy, madness and reality is cleverly blended, with one scene of lovemaking while a rumbling train passes quite memorable indeed.
The Arrow Blu-ray looks great, and does bring this Fellini to America for the first time ever. The special features are slim, but it does include an hour-long documentary on the film, which is really indispensable and perhaps would help change Mr. Scott's opinion? Certainly it puts the film in its proper place in the world of Fellini.
