442. Giulietta degli spiriti/Juliet of the Spirits (1965)

Running Time: 137 minutes
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Written By: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Main Cast: Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese

FELLINI WEEK: 5 of 7

WOW. That was pretty much the only word that was circling my head as "Juliet of the Spirits" concluded. It would take some more serious thought, but I don't think I've ever seen a more gorgeous film in my life. And the ironic thing is that we're dealing with such a sad and heartbreaking story, yet the beauty of this picture is absolutely mesmerizing.

The film tells the story of Juliet, a very plain housewife living in Italy. She is married to Giorgio, whom she suspects is cheating on her. She lives a very "good housekeeping" type of life, very upper class, complete with maids, a gorgeous home, the most modern and stylish of clothing, everything a housewife in the sixties could ask for. When she realizes that her suspicions about her husbands are more than suspicions, she begins to seek outside help, from clairvoyants and private investigators. Later, she becomes friendly with her neighbor, Suzy, who tries to help Juliet tap into a more sexual side of herself, and almost relinquishes her body to one of Suzy's house guests. She, however, comes to her senses at the last minute, but is visited by spirits and demons for almost letting her desires get the best of her.

It's not unbelievable with Fellini to have different interpretations to his films and this is yet another example of that. I had many different interpretations for almost everything that appeared on the screen and honestly this is the only movie that I've ever watched where I wanted to do a running commentary for it, just so I could get ALL of my opinions out in the open. Seriously though, it seems as though every scene is vital and imperative and has some sort of deep meaning, and while with most of the scenes I was able to form my own interpretations, others were up in the air, yet still visually captivating and vital to the film. Like I said above, I have never seen a more visually stunning motion picture and there were scenes that literally had me "ooohing" and "aaahing", that's how absolutely breath taking some of the imagery was in "Juliet of the Spirits".

This is also a prime example of a movie that can help you appreciate camera movement, color schemes and score. Fellini knew what he was doing with his colors and had a way of manipulating his colors into furthering his story, much like a Picasso or a Rembrandt. There were countless scenes in "Juliet of the Spirits" where if I could've freeze framed my television and hit "print", I would've hung some of the images on my walls, they were that gorgeous and captivating. This movie really scoops you up and pulls you into another world, a terrifying world that is so beautiful at the same time. It's a bit of an exhausting picture as well and in my opinion will take any viewer a few days to fully digest. The camera glides along, as though being operated by an angel, yet many of the scenes would likely make an angel weep. The score is perfect and the actors and actresses are superb, especially Sandra Milo as a high class whore and of course, Giulietta Masina, who has proved to be a very versatile little actress.

After watching some of Fellini's much lauded works: "La Dolce Vita" (which I still stand by my rating for), "8 1/2" (which would probably have a higher rating after a few days of contemplation), "La Strada" and "The Nights of Cabiria", I am absolutely dumbfounded as to why "Juliet of the Spirits" isn't one of his more lauded pictures and can only make the argument that maybe it was a little to risky for some critics to get behind. This, so far, is clearly Fellini's masterpiece and will surely be a picture that I'll cite as a Fellini favorite, no matter how good the next two are.

RATING: 10/10 Loved it! If you haven't seen it, see it and be prepared to be totally dazzled by the most awe inspiring picture you've possibly ever seen.

MOVIES WATCHED: 153
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 848

September 27, 2010 11:53pm