8 ½

Occasionally, one always wishes one could get others to see what was playing in one’s theatre of the mind. What if, you felt like simply doing what came to mind and see if others enjoyed?

Fellini does just that, in this movie which had been recommended a long time before to us.
Marcello Mastroianni as Guido and his ‘harem’ of women and their stories are just amazing setpieces in this work by Fellini which seems like one effortless scene after another. There are numerous attempts at “thumbing the nose” at intellectuals and others, not least of which is the seemingly smart scriptwriter. There are parodies galore of the movie industry and the hard work that it involves.

Before we forget, Anouk Aimee as Luisa is our latest crush in life. Oooh! She’s so cute, ra!

But the movie is anything but frivolous imagination. It is immensely entertaining and is an excellent choice for a weekend movie. It is easy on the eye and has good music, especially in the ‘rhumba’ by Saraghina!

The climax is reminiscent of the wedding party of the daughter in The Godfather. Everyone is enjoying themselves. Although, one felt a trifle sad for the sailor who performs a trial dance.

According to IMDB, six features, two short (1/2) films and "half a picture" were the sum total of Fellini’s output, before this one and hence the title (7.5 + 1)
81/2 tells the story of a movie maker trying to overcome his version of writer’s block. The rest is movies, masti, magic. Creativity in full flow. To think, this movie was made in 1963!
Outstanding effort.

Go watch it while we look for our Luisa, Oh she’s so cute, ra!