I vitelloni - dir. Federico Fellini

I vitelloni was one of Anthony Minghella's favourite films so a while ago I borrowed a copy of the film from Petrarch's Muse to watch it for myself.

The film is set in a small Italian town in the 50s and follows the lives of four young men, Moraldo, Alberto, Fausto, Leopaldo and Riccardo, as they wander aimlessly through the days of their lives. The film opens with a thunder storm. This sets the scene for Moraldo and, especially, Fausto, whom the film follows most closely.

Fausto is a serial womaniser. After getting his girlfriend pregnant he is forced into a shotgun marriage with her. But after their honeymoon, it is not long before he is coming onto a woman in the cinema - while his wife is resting on his arm and his boss's wife. When he is found out, he makes his situation worse by blaming her for the episode. Matters come to ahead when Fausto's wife, Sandra, almost runs away with their baby. He eventually finds her at the home of his father who gives him a good beating for his behaviour. Despite that, Fausto goes home with home with suggesting that she was the one who caused him trouble! 

Alberto's is a sad story as his sister runs off with her boyfriend. Alberto and his mother are distraught. Unfortunately, we do not see much more than their reaction to this event before the film moves on.

Leopaldo is a would be playwright whose big moment comes when he meets the famous actor Sergio Natali. Natali listens to Leopaldo's hurried read through of his latest play before heading off down to the beach during another storm. Leopaldo's parochial (or common sense) tendencies come to the fore. Natali may be a star but he is also quite possibly mad. Leopaldo does a runner.

Perhaps the real heart of the story is Moraldo. The quiet, thoughtful member of the gang of friends. He has outgrown his home town but appears to have no idea as to where he should go next. At the end of the film, he jumps onto a train. His destination? Anywhere, it would seem.

I vitelloni has a hard edge to it but is otherwise a gentle film. It appears that it was, at least in part, a biographical picture with Moraldo being Fellini. Perhaps although Fellini had to leave his home behind him he retained a great deal of nostalgia for it. Either way, this was a really good film. The plot is simple but it has some great characters. A poster on IMDB says he thinks it is one of the best character study films around. If only because I don't know what the competition is, I can't agree to that, but what I can do is recommend I vitelloni to you highly. It is a poignant but kind hearted film.