In Search of Fellini

It's 1993. Lucy Cunningham (Ksenia Solo) is a naive 20 year old living in small town Ohio with her dreamer mother Claire (Maria Bello). Claire is so protective that anything or anyone dying would require her to write a postcard to Lucy pretending to be the loved one or pet still alive and simply on a joyful trip. After reading a newspaper ad, Lucy decides to apply for a film job in the big city of Cleveland. She promptly loses her Vespa and the job turns out to be porn. She is drawn to a Fellini film festival which leads her to a life-changing journey to Italy while her mother hides her terminal illness.

This is a nice coming-of-age story. Quite frankly, I like this more than all those other finding-yourself-in-Italy movies. The three ladies create a great family connection. I find the surrealism in Cleveland very endearing. It could use more surrealism in Italy. It's definitely trying to recreate Fellini with many of the old film clips. It's very Fellini but it needs to be more. One way to create more surrealism is Lucy's drawings. It would be interesting to see her artwork come alive. While I like Ksenia Solo, she is in her late 20's but the character is only 20. At times, she can't quite reach the wide-eyed innocent that the role requires. The character is already more childlike than her twenty years. It's asking a lot from an actress in her late 20s. Overall, it's a wonderful trip with an appealing character.

You don't have to be a Fellini fan to enjoy and appreciate this movie, but if you have some familiarity, you will catch the references built into both the story and the cinematography (which is beautiful) and the Fellini clips integrated throughout. The story is a stylized, semi-autobiographical view of a solo trip co-writer Nancy Cartwright made to Italy in her early 20s after becoming enamored of the films of Federico Fellini. Ksenia Solo as Lucy, gives a wonderful performance, growing from wide eyed innocence and naivety through her experiences, good and bad (and bizarre). Her eyes alone speak volumes in every scene. Maria Bello and Mary Lynn Rajskub as Lucy's mother and aunt also shine as they negotiate their relationships both with Lucy and each other.

In Search of Fellini was beautifully done. Every moment of the actors' lines and scenes were authentic. The entire cast did very well in their roles, from the film extras to the lead roles. Peter Arpesella as Fellini's assistant was also very well done.

Ksenia Solo was a delight to watch as the isolated, painfully shy, innocent, and vulnerable Lucy. Enrico Oetiker as Pietro lit up the screen with his natural charisma and quiet intensity. Enrico did not have much overall screen time, but made a strong and lasting impression. Maria Bello as Lucy's mother and Mary Lyn Rajskub as Kerri were wonderfully acted.

The love interests in this film share an onscreen chemistry that is rare. Their connection was natural, organic, and profound. There are moments in this film that remind me of the unmatched magic like quality of the many Italian classics I have enjoyed. The film score flows seamlessly within this movie and is just the right complement to the action and often is quite moving. The film is not necessarily fantasy and not quite realistic, but somewhere in between...perfect for a Fellini inspired film and very well done tribute to a master.

USA Film Festival 2017 Greetings again from the darkness. Even In this age of "helicopter parenting" it's disconcerting to see such flagrant over-protectiveness as that perpetuated by Maria Bello's character on her daughter Lucy. For film lovers, it's even more disheartening to see how the mother uses "happy ending" movies such as It's a Wonderful Life to create the social bubble that results in 20 year old Lucy having never been kissed, and having no concept of reality (outside of what she has seen in movies).

Contrary to what that set-up would have us believe, director Taron Lexton's film is actually less Coming-of-Age and more 'Welcome to the Universe', and Lucy's journey of self-discovery is quite enjoyable to behold. Co-written by Nancy Cartwright and Peter Kjenaas, it's the 'based on a true story' of Ms. Cartwright's own personal journey prior to her nearly 30 year run as the voice of Bart Simpson.

Lucy (Ksenia Solo, Black Swan) is off on an interview-gone-wrong when she stumbles into a Fellini film festival. She is immediately entranced by the obscure imagery and often less-than-happy endings. In fact, she connects with the films in such a manner that she is inspired to travel to Italy and meet with the Maestro himself. Ms. Cartwright's real life motivation stemmed from watching Fellini's La Strada (1954), and she instantly saw herself in Gelsomina (played by the spirited Giuletta Masina).

Her travels through Italy are filled with ups and downs, and Lucy crosses paths with good people and bad. It's her first true life experience and we are along for the ride. The structure of the story is such that as Lucy is discovering life, her mother (Bello) is back home in Ohio slowly losing her battle with cancer while being nursed by her straight-talking sister (Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chloe from "24"). Such contrasting elements would fit right in to a Fellini film.

At some point, most movie lovers experience the awakening that occurs when graduating from pleasant, feel good family movies to more esoteric and philosophical cinema. Fortunately, this awakening typically occurs before age 20 and does not require an international trip or dying mother to allow us to grow as a person. Ms. Cartwright's willingness to share her story makes for interesting filmmaking and one of the more unusual coming-of-age (or Welcome to the Universe) twists that we've seen on screen.

This film is a magical journey, truly. The cinematography, sound and music combine with winning direction and performances to make for a very emotional and aesthetic film. Plus, you really feel like you have been to Venice, Rome and Verona! Well done, all departments. I enjoyed it very much and so did my wife and my mom.