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This
angelic waif is Gelsomina from La Strada played by Fellini's wife,
Giulietta Masina. La Strada was an early allegory featuring Anthony
Quinn and Richard Basehart (yes, THAT Richard Basehart). It's an
excellent film, and Gelsomina is utterly captivating. But it's pretty
long.
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This image is from the fabulous Satyricon, one of
Fellini's most visually stunning works. At first blush, it
appears to confirm Fellini's
reputation as a presenter of spectacles of
gluttony and lust, but the film follows an account of Rome in Nero's
time written by Petronius Arbiter (a member of Nero's court) quite
closely (except for the naughty bits). The fact that one-tenth (it is
estimated) of
Petronius' original survives to be rendered on film helps
explain the
fact that Fellini's version appears disjointed and surreal. Happily, this is consonant
with his purpose, I think. This is not to say the film is plotless,
any more plotless than, for instance, Roma, his homage to his adopted
home - "the city men fall in love with, like a woman."
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