 |
| A black & white study of color |
Someone once said of Charles Dickens that with all his plot
contrivances, his silly character names, his terrible coincidences and reliance on low-end melodrama, he should
be bad. Really bad. But he’s great. And he’s great because through it all his over abounding
love for life shines through like a summer sun.
Love for life. Love of
life. When you consider Federico Fellini, consider love and life. It will get
you through the often meandering story structures, the over-reliance on the grotesque,
and the unsatisfying conclusions.
You see the colors, the emotions swirling up like kite
tails, unpredictable and playful. You see the people, who often seem to belong
to a kind of theatrical troupe, argumentative but rarely mean, cheerful but foolish,
wounded but dancing into tomorrow.
 |
| Fellini takes off the makeup |
As Guido says — his greatest character in his greatest film
— “What is this flash of joy that's giving me new life? … I feel I've been set
free. Everything looks good to me, it has a sense, it's true. How I wish I
could explain, but I can't... I'm not afraid to tell the truth now…what I'm
seeking... Life is a party, let's live it together. I can't say anything else,
to you or others. Take me as I am, if you can... it's the only way we can try
to find each other.”
‘Felliniesque’. Few people have had their surname
metamorphosed into an adjective, but how else to define this indefinable parade
of glistening souls.
“Life is a party. Let’s live it together.” Federico, we try,
but unlike you, few of us dream in color.