The Sweet Life

Sometimes I struggle with these long-standing acclaimed films because I don't see their merit, and they don't entertain me. However, Federico Fellini directed a film that is narratively engaging, even though it's nearly three hours long. This opus about society, with its beautifully biting critique, is just something you have to appreciate. (03/27/2015)

La Dolce Vita is not a film for everyone. It is a three-hour long portrait of the era and life of the high society. And it is of course quite good at that. It features certain scenes and musical themes that influenced the entire film industry, and have not grown old in decades. Some moments are a real pleasure to watch. But it’s still not enough for me to give it more than three stars. I understand that the message lies in the atmosphere of the times, but the filmmaking craft is not enough when the film lacks a soul and a story that would draw me in. Here I just watch people I don’t care about wasting their lives. They are of course unaware of it, and that’s why the film is called the way it is. (01/14/2020)

Some people don’t know what the three hours of La Dolce Vita are about, and yet it’s evident in every elaborate shot, in every sweet sounding Italian line packed with multiple meanings, and in every facial gesture that the bohemian, doomed paparazzo Marcelo Mastroianni conjures up on his charismatic face. A brilliantly constructed and harmonic story, where Fellini manages to turn countless bitterly symbolic scenes into iconic and often quoted moments of world cinema thanks to their visual perfection and universally accessible melodramatic character. The blonde diva bathing in the fountain while the blinded Marcello fetches milk for a stranger's kitten at her request, the hordes of journalists circling the social elite like annoying flies, the abuse of a drunken girl for a humiliating dance and finally the ending itself, when the hero, despite the sea surf and the screams of his companions, does not understand the words of the unspoiled young girl and turns his back on her, facing his moral doom. All of these are wonderful cinematic and unforgettable scenes that of course make for a delightful, or rather, sweet viewing experience. 95% (10/04/2015)

While some scenes and the fates of some of the characters probably appealed to me exactly as they should have, I was rather bored for most of the drawn-out, gigantically overblown runtime. Not enough to keep me from making it to the end, but still enough. I will gladly give La dolce vita another chance, because it definitely needs it, but I won't be in a rush to do it.__P.S. Beautiful music by Rota. (07/17/2011)

Sweet, but impenetrable. As much as Federico Fellini can captivate you and almost carry you away in some scenes, he can equally thoroughly bore you to pieces in this demanding three-hour film. Marcello Mastroianni plays the bohemian to the fullest, but his Marcello lacks the necessary character weight that such a presence deserves. And yet what disappoints me most is the change from an intimate drama to heavy criticism, which makes the whole film disintegrate into several parts that more or less cease to relate to each other. So, I remain somewhat at a loss in my rating. I can feel the power that this film can offer, which only a good film can provide, but it couldn't fully reach me. (05/01/2006)