8 ½ offers us Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), a famous film director stuck on his next project despite thinking it should be easy. He has lost the one absolute necessity for directing: a vision for what the film should, in the end, be. And so he retreats to a quiet spa town for a relaxation treatment, only to find his life has followed him there — critics, actors, producers, his wife, his mistress. Sunk in a personal and artistic rut, and feeling persecuted by the consequences of the sacrifices he has made for his work, his perspective becomes dreamlike and surreal. Or is that our perspective? Is there a difference?

All who would call themselves fans of film as an art form must eventually reckon with iconic Italian director Federico Fellini. One may or may not like his work (though it’s hard to imagine not finding something to like), but it cannot be ignored. He changed the rules of the game. His ability to interweave (dragoon? cross-contaminate?) the fantastical and the grounded let him reign as your favorite art-house filmmaker’s favorite art-house filmmaker for many years. His films were experiential and impressionistic but achingly, sometimes uncomfortably personal. It could be argued that his entire catalog has as its theme the transformative power of love (and lust), but it’s probably closer to the truth to say that his theme was the life of Fellini, and he merely experienced love as a motivational force in that life. Certainly 8 ½ is about love. More certainly, 8 ½ is about Fellini. Either way, it’s nearly perfect.

8 ½ made its Tampa debut here on its release in 1963. Somewhat embarrassingly, we haven’t shown it since 1995.

Presented as part of BIG PICTURE: A Century of Stories

This screening is held in the Historic Duncan Auditorium. This space utilizes open seating for this event, seat selection is not required.