La Strada (1954)

 Federico Fellini's "La Strada"

It's very difficult to try and 'overanalyze' Federico Fellini's 1954 masterwork "La Strada." Upon reading critical evaluations from its initial release and reappraisals, many critics apply the term 'mythological.' When I hear this word applied to this film, applause erupts in my head, as I feel such a connection between the word and the film itself. However, to explain such a connection proves difficult, if not impossible. "La Strada" is something quite mythological indeed. 

It stars Anthony Quinn as a travelling strongman performer named Zampano who takes in a simple-minded young girl, played by Fellini's wife Giulietta Masina, named Gelsomina. The entire film documents their travels together and their subsequent separation. 

The review for this probably won't be too long, as I don't have much to say about the film. Typically, when I don't have much to say about a film, it's because I didn't engage too much with it. However, in this case, it is quite the opposite. The film is so poetic, mystical, and realist that its such an elusive experience. The sole sentiment I felt at the film's end was pure emptiness. The characters' moments together all feel very fleeting. Despite much of these moments being very harsh, aggressive, and even downright violent, there's somehow a tenderness and intimacy that breathes through them. Throughout the film, our Gelsomina contemplates her belonging in this vast and harsh universe. Through all the suffering and heartbreak, what is our destiny? Where do we belong? Perhaps we belong nowhere and to no one. After all, as the film points out, we all end up alone in the end. As the film's closing moments pass through us, we echo Zampano's loneliness and despair. 

Perhaps this is why the film is so 'mythical.' All of our characters are drifting stars trying to find their place in the vast universe. It's an incredibly simple concept and an incredibly simple theme that Fellini somehow manages to heighten to utterly spiritual levels. I noticed this magic with his first that I reviewed, "I Vitelloni." Fellini somehow manages to take universal, simple concepts and sent them directly into your soul from the film screen. How does he do this? Is it magic?