I Vitelloni

Federico Fellini's films often feel more autobiographical than the average bear. He's clearly one of the most distinct auteurs of all cinema. This was his third film (second that he directed solo), and often regarded as his first major step into directoral maturity. It concerns a group of 20-something men who don't have jobs and live off of their families middle-class income. One is a womanizer, a writer who dreams of stardom, a simple-minded man, and one who seems more constant than the others and even has a job. They spend their time in the small town dreaming of greatness and adventure, but never getting up and doing anything. It's the cinematic ancestor of films like Slacker and Clerks. This is probably my favorite of his pre-8 1/2 films, featuring simple, poetic black and white photography and a comedic tone that doesn't overpower the pathos of the characters. I've always tended to appreciate (most of) Fellini's films more than I like them, and it's probably no different with this film, but dammit, I can't deny the greatness of his filmmaking. Martin Scorsese claims to have been heavily influenced by this film as he was making Mean Streets. I see the connection.