City of Women is in one respect quite a historical artifact—a reminder of how much males felt threatened by the feminism of the day. It’s rather like the harem sequence from 8 ½ expanded into a full-length feature, and in Marcello Mastroianni’s character you can feel free either to admire Fellini’s self-awareness of the ludicrousness of his alter ego’s sexualised view of women or to be annoyed by Fellini’s simultaneous indulgence in it. There are some nice set pieces but it does all go on a bit too long, and although the repeating dream structure is a nice idea (we plunge into a Freudian train tunnel at the start of the film, and then again at the end, literally stuck in the dark of the tunnel as the credits end), visually the film is disappointing, very drab and unimaginative compared to past glories.
by Ian Johnston | Source: 35mm print
14 Oct 2007 12:02 PM | Submit Comment
