“Eight and a Half is a film by Italian director Federico Fellini starring Marcello Mastroianni. Other roles include Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Barbara Steele and others. The music for Eight and a Half, as well as for Fellini’s previous films, was composed by Nino Rota. The music of Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Rossini was also used in the film. The title Eight and a Half was given to the film because of its number in Fellini’s oeuvre: before this film the director had made six pictures on his own and one half with Alberto Lattuada.
The plot of Eight and a Half unfolds around the experiences of the main character, the famous and popular director Guido Anselmi (Mastroianni), who is going to shoot a feature film about saving humanity after a nuclear disaster. After learning about the director’s plan, actors, producers and journalists begin to hunt for him, wanting to cash in on the film. But Guido has never been able to get down to work. He can not find a source of inspiration, he was disappointed in life and in love, can not put his thoughts and ideas into a whole.
Eight and a Half falls in the middle of Fellini’s work. In fact, just as the protagonist tries to find answers to his questions in his inner feelings and childhood memories, Fellini himself turns inside himself to evaluate what has already been done and what remains to be done on his creative path. It is no coincidence that Fellini chose Mastroianni, an actor with whom he had a very warm and friendly relationship, to play this very special role. There is a clear link between the film “Eight and a Half” and the previous film “La Dolce Vita” where the main character was also played by Mastroianni.
Particular attention should be paid to the specific method of conveying the inner world of the main character, when the events of real life are intertwined with the personal experiences of the hero, nothing is not separated from them, neither artistically nor dramaturgically. There is no fog, no distortion of the image, and no overlaps, which are usually used to separate reality from fantasy. In Eight and a Half, the two worlds are so firmly intertwined that it is impossible to separate them. This technique, called “stream of consciousness,” provides a layered, multilayered image of the main character, allows the audience to plunge into his life, imbued with his thoughts. This was an unconditional breakthrough in the visual means of world cinematography.
At the end of the film, real and imaginary characters join together to take part in a circus procession against the backdrop of unfinished sets for a film that will never be made, Guido himself leading the procession. After setting everyone in their places, he too joins the circus.
