Umberto D

Umberto D is a 1952 Italian neorealist film directed by Vittoria De Sica . Most of the actors were non-professional , including Carlo Battisti, who plays the title role of Umberto Ferrari., a poor old man in Rome desperately trying to keep his room.  His landlady is a gold-digger , looking to show off her apartments and marry someone who can provide for her.  His landlady is evicting him and his only true friends , the housemaid  and his dog Flike are of no help. The young maid , Maria who is pregnant by  one of two soldiers - still likes him , though and provides moral support ,even if she can't help in any practical way.   "Umberto D" is a character-driven film .  It works very well because of its sharp observations on loneliness and poignant gestures.  Many of the scenes ,  even the ones that do not necessarily advance the plot, are hypnotically beautiful in their simplicity.  The film sticks firmly to the neo-realist conventions ;  the lead actor is a non professional actor (who does a good job if not great) , the use of studio sets is kept to minimum and the everyday lives of people are examined in minute detail.  Indeed, Umberto D could have been one of the most  depressing films ever made ,  but instead it's one of the most heartfelt.

La Notte

La Notte  is a 1961 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, and Monica Vitti.  The film is about a day in the life of a married couple. The film actually tells the story of the sour marriage between the writer Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni) and his wife Lydia ( Jeanne Moreau).

They have stayed together for many years but now they aren't in love with each other. Giovanni is a rich and highly lauded novelist ,who also makes a living writing magazine articles. His wife Lydia comes from a wealthy family . She cannot stand him any longer . On the other hand, he is bored with his wife. The film opens when they visit a dying friend, named Tommaso Garani in a hospital.  Tommaso is also a writer but not as good as Giovanni.  He has read most pages of Giovanni's latest book, hoping to finish it before he dies. It seems that Giovanni is more interested in knowing what his friend feels of his work than what will become of his friend.  Later at night,they attend a party of a wealthy businessman.  Giovanni is attracted towards Valentina (Monica VItti). Valentina is daughter of the host.  She flirts with him while Lydia flirts with a male guest. The film so well captures the reasons behind failures of so many marriages. It is clear that Lydia never cared for her husband's talent . She wasn't interested in art. That said, it's also clear that Giovanni never cared deeply for Lydia. They have nothing in common but their memories ,or ,as Giovanni tells his wife "I no longer have inspirations, only recollections."

Jeanne Moreau does a good job of generating the drenched spirit of vagrant moods. Marcello Mastroianni gives a good performance while Monica Vitti steals the show in supporting role as a charming but calm young woman. She seems to know what this couple truely want and what she wants. The camerawork is spectacular in this film. Antonioni presents a cold , cruel, lonely modern world where the old principles of civilization and behavior no longer have a place. It is a highly focused, layered and intensified adult drama about the ennui that occurs in a marriage.

Il deserto rosso ( Red Desert)

Red Desert (Italian: Il deserto rosso) is a 1964 Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.  The film is about a woman trying hard to survive in the modern world of cultural neurosis and existential dilemma. This is Antonioni's first colour film.

Giuliana (Monica Vitti) is married to a manager of the factory.  Giuliana suffers from an unnamed form of depression. She has a young son as well.  Despite that ,she is unhappy and lonely. She even tries an affair with a friend of her husband.  His name is Corrado Zeller (Richard Harris). He is looking to take workers for an industrial purpose in Argentina.   Giuliana sustains minor injuries in a car crash. After that, she becomes hypersensitive.  She begins to feel the pain of isolation. Antonioni uses out of focus shots to show that she is "out of sync" with others. People around Giuliana can't relate to her troubles. Only Corrado understands some of her problems and comes near to her. Corrado is rootless,travelling from place to place but never finding happiness. He tries to make her feel better but nothing changes. 

The film is hailed as a great example of the use of colour , or an expressionistic work of art.  There are no natural colours  that contain any real texture or sensuality.   Even the natural elements seem to be unreal. Director uses colour to such striking effect that the film frequently  borders on pure abstraction.

We can see how isolated one becomes when one realises  that he/she is  the only one who seems to be sensitive to it. This film shows the oppressive sides of modern life. Human relationships have become mechanical. Antonioni nicely captures the dark side of modern world.

La Dolce Vita

La Dolce VIta is a 1960 film written and directed by Federico Fellini. This film is widely considered as one of the best feat in world cinema. This film pinpoints the transition between Fellini's earlier neo-realist films and his later films. La Dolce Vita shows a series of events in the life of Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni).

Marcello has an affair with a woman (Anouk Aimee) . He also has a girlfriend (Yvonne Furnaux) who is possessive about him. One day, he goes on duty for the arrival of Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), a popular Swedish-American actress. As Marcello moves through the city following the star, we discover that his life is empty. We see that he writes meaningless things in tabloids. One of the most important character of this film is Steiner. Steiner is Marcello's dear friend and he is someone whom Marcello respects. One day,in Steiner's house Marcello meets with a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals. Steiner feels trapped by his own circle of intellectuals. When  Marcello tells him about his admiration for Steiner, Steiner replies  " Don't be like me. Salvation doesn't lie within four walls. I'm too serious to be a dilettante and too much a dabbler to be a professional. Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected."

  Marcello Mastroianni gives a great performance as a shallow tabloid reporter who struggles to find his place in the world.  Anita Ekberg is a revelation as the charming superstar. Yvonne Furnaux gave a great performance as the reporter's possessive mistress. Nino Rota's musical scoring is another plus point of this    film. 

This film is a dense,complicated portrait of modern life.  This is a harsh critic of media culture.  This is also a film about nothingness ,emptiness.   The central character Marcello is both charming and weak. He has numerous affairs in his life yet he is never happy.  During this time, he betrays his girlfriend who truely loved him.  The film shows  how the modern man has become disconnected from the natural world . It also raises questions about the purpose of life. One of the best thing about Fellini is his ability to keep audiences interested in the unsympathetic characters of this film. This film is an epic satire on modern life. It is a highly enjoyable cinema yet it is so difficult to comprehend.