Anita Ekberg: In a Timeless Trinity

 

It doesn’t last long. Maybe a minute. She only has a few lines. Among the most iconic scenes in all of film. Anita Ekberg in Rome’s Trevi Fountain, her eyes closed, long blonde mane already ordained by the baptismal font, pales arms raised out wide, wondrous face held to the heavens. At first alone, then joined by a man, soon humbled by the divine.

Anita Ekberg, more statuesque than statue, black velvet gown trails across the dark waters. It is 1960. Behind her is the war, the hunger and hatred, and ahead the Woodstocks and the drugs and paisley draped boudoirs of free love. But there she sways, untethered from time, held to nothing but the moment and the arms of an unseen lover soon to leave for the rest of her life.

For she never will again embrace the mystic, that brave prayer answered when Art abandons the pen and paper of its own creation, and forever floats down hallowed halls, in a timeless trinity with the starry dome above and the dark waters beneath.

 

#Anitaekberg #marcellomastronioni #fellini #ladolcevita #trevi #fountain #film #1960 #italy

George Hamilton: The Bearable Lightness of Being

 

Where most actors search for substantial roles that could bring prestige and success. George Hamilton walks a different path. It’s as if—early on—he somehow recognized his talents and longevity were empowered by mediocrity.

His filmography is aggressively lightweight, yet he has worked steadily for over fifty years. At one point, Hamilton was best known for his roasted barbeque tan. He also gained exposure as a kind of professional escort for aging actors.

Throughout it all, he perfected a Las Vegas notion of charm, all dazzling veneers and inconsequential quotes.

What saved him from early extinction was seemingly effortless self-deprecation, as if to say, ‘I too cannot fathom my success. It truly is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.’

The career of George Hamilton—if not the persona—comes as compelling evidence that some are gifted to walk the beach, leaving no prints, embracing the burlesque appeal of superficiality, and making the lightness of it all bearable for the rest of us.

 

#georgehamilton #1960s #pop #popular #culture #ianclarke #film #review #letsplaysomethingelse.com