Juliette des esprits

This is the first Fellini movie I ever saw and I just recently viewed the 35mm restored re-release. How beautiful. Fellini captures such wonderful dream-like sequences in brilliant color. Phenomenal! Every scene had such a distinct personality and mood to it. His blend of high and low key lighting, especially in the exposition carries the storyline. Giulietta's associated score is disturbing yet intriguing. The wardrobe and makeup department must have had lots of fun on this film. If you have yet to see a Fellini movie, I suggest this one. A bit creepy, a bit weird, but nonetheless it has a purpose. A tight narrative.

Really sort of the female counter part to 8 1/2, It had the same sort of dream/memory/fantasy narrative, and the same sprawling dialogue and humor, the biggest difference was this was about relationships and sexual repression and freedom, had a female lead and was in technicolor, which Fellini really makes great use of, it adds a kelidoscopic psychedelic feel to the whole movie. There really are some amazing visuals and all the dialoge is superb. Though I guess its not so much a female 8 1/2 as it is a caricature of a marriage during the sexual revolution , but it's still a funny and poignant one. Great performances and memory dialog; the sexual revolution as a circus.

This film by Fellini is basically the female version of 8 1/2. Instead of delving into the mind of a middle-aged Italian man dealing with problems with his wife and trying to figure out who he really is, it is about a middle-aged Italian woman dealing with problems with her cheating husband and trying to figure out who she really is. (I still can't decide who I like more as a lead in a Fellini film... Masina or Mastroianni.) The film is very enjoyable, and is definitely one of the films I would classify as a work of art. The one thing that really stands out to me, however, is this: It could only exist as a film. Most films are adapted from previously written novels, or at the very least can suffer the indignation of a "novelization" without losing the quality of the story. But I cannot fathom any way a writer could capture this film with words. It is very visual, but could not be painted or drawn either. I think this is one of the few films I've seen that is completely unique to the medium of film. Towards the end of the film, there is a scene where she is trying to avoid voices and images around her while hosting a party. It was at this point that I realized how perfectly every shot was set-up, and that there would be no way anyone could capture the feeling or the images with words.

I would be extremely fascinated to see what the shooting script to this film looked like. It's the fifth Fellini film I've seen, and I must say, I think I can call him my favorite director. He's the only director whom I've been enthralled by every single film I've seen of his. He has a perfect record, 1.000% batting average so far with me. I'm going to keep seeing more, and hopefully I won't ever be disappointed.

Juliet, a plain (relatively speaking) woman (Giulietta Masina) finds the will to leave her philandering husband through strange visions and the weird sybaritic lifestyle of her neighbour Suzy (Sandra Milo). As much as I like Giulietta Masina, I didn't like this film as much the earlier neo-realist work she did with husband Federico Fellini, such as the superb 'La Strada' (1954). I am not a big fan of the flamboyant grotesqueries in which Fellini indulged himself in the 60s (although there are some striking images (both in dreams and in reality) in this film such as the parade on the beach or the strange recurring row of nuns). As usual, Masina, with her beautifully expressive face, is irresistible and although I didn't really like the film, I am glad I watched it.

I loved this movie. For me, as a relatively new student of Fellini, I understand that there is a progression in his films over the years. His initial films are more generally coherent stories like "La Strada" and then his later films are more focused on the visual and surreal, like "8 1/2".

This movie is somewhere in between. There is the coherent storyline of Juliet and her philandering husband and all the other strange characters in her life, like family and friends, but then there is also the psychedelic and surreal element of the spirit world that Juliet is in close contact with everyday.

Masina is great as usual--she acts a lot just with her eyes and the expressions on her face.

This film is just a delight. My suggestion is that you don't try to analyze it too deeply. Just sit back and let the colors, settings, costumes, and larger than life characters wash over you.