STORY STUDY - CRITERION WEEK: 140. “8 ½”

It’s only fitting that after posting about Nine, we have to talk about the film that inspired it: 8½.

Directed by Frederico Fellini, screenplay by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi, and story by Fellini, and Flaiano, the film is about director Guido Anselmi going through a creative block in his latest film, going through marital troubles, and just having a mid-life crisis.

Really, the story is not much different from Nine. The only difference I picked up was that in Nine, Guido is forced to make a musical; in the film, it’s a science fiction film he’s having trouble making, with a life-sized rocket ship being built specifically for the film.

Being different mediums of storytelling, the film takes full advantage of how to present its story. This is evident from the opening scene: a dream-like sequence where Guido is stuck in traffic. As he is panicking, all the surrounding people turn and stare at him. The scene’s final image is him flying in the air with someone holding a rope on his ankle, as if he is a kite.

Granted, this is literally a dream by the character, but the tone is consistent throughout, as there are literal fantasy scenes imagined by Guido, but the film as a whole feels very dream-like and surreal with the way its shot and how the characters are positioned in their blocking.

Throughout the film, nothing seems to be going the way Guido wants it to. A famous scene is a fantasy sequence where he imagines himself keeping a harem of women whom we see throughout the film, all loving him and being civil around the other women. This showcases what he wants in life. Of course, reality shows this to be the very opposite.

Some would say that this bizarre way of telling the story is exactly how Guido sees his world right now: confusing and disjointed with a bunch of ridiculous events taking place. Others might think that the film itself is confusing and disjointed with a bunch of ridiculous events taking place.

8½ won two Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language film at the 36th Academy Awards, and has influenced a variety of artists and filmmakers, including the previously mentioned Nine musical (and its eventual film adaptation in 2009 directed by Rob Marshall), R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” music video, Synecdoche, New York (2008, dir. Charlie Kaufman), Stardust Memories (1980, dir. Woody Allen), as well as future Criterion week films Day for Night (1974, dir. Francois Truffaut) and All that Jazz (1979, dir. Bob Fosse.)

It’s a film that has abstract storytelling, but a very relatable, if not frustrating, main character. Is it for the casual viewer? Probably not, but I still feel like it’s watchable if you’re in the right mindset, and able to accept its unconventional presentation. But for the people who love films? 8½ is considered to be one of the greatest there is.