From what one can only assume is a semi-autobiographical film loosely based on Fellini and Boldrini's relationship comes Federico Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits, a delirious, albeit entrancing experience that attempts to examine the female psyche of a woman who is haunted by the realization that her husband may be cheating on her with another woman. Fellini's first film in color, it's obvious from the early stages of Juliet of the Spirits that their is a master filmmaker at work. With masterful use of technicolor, Fellini has created a wild film thats cinematography, direction, and production design all work together to transport the viewer into the psychological state of a woman who has reached a crossroads. Through this wild and surreal journey, Fellini captures the doubts, desires, and superstitious of this housewife, exploring femininity in a way that is at times fascinating but also incomprehensible. Juliet's psychological journey never makes it clear what is real or imaginary, offering up a surreal experience that is bound to frustrate as much as enlighten. The biggest problem with Fellini's extravagant film is that is lacks an overall vision, offering some poignant insights into the psyche of Juliet, like how she has insecurities about her appearance, but never fully developing into anything more than a frantic roller-coaster ride of doubt, emotion, and memory. Juliet is constantly pulled in all sorts of different directions in how to deal with her husband, and that perhaps is the most interesting aspect of Fellini's film, with Juliet of the Spirits capturing the complexities of our psychology. Juliet eventually finds some emotional relief towards the end of the film when she becomes empowered by realizing that leaving her husband is the only way to emancipate herself from this torturous situation, focusing in on her own happiness and not the voices of dissent that inhabit her life. While some of the film's psychological observations are astute, Federico Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits is a film where style and artistry trump substance, although it's a film that should be experienced for its aesthetic alone.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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