La Dolce Vita gives reasons to live by

By Paul Tsikitas
Collegian Editor
April 5, 2006

Life comes to life on the big screen. This sounds odd, but for my dollar, the best lessons I have gotten in life have been through watching films. The films that do the best at reaffirming living life to its fullest potential are foreign films. The Europeans have a knack for pointing out the downsides and upsides to living life. There is only one film that has ever spoken to me on this high level of looking at the world and what matters. That film is Fedirico Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece La Dolce Vita.

The subject matter has so little to do with my life right now that this may seem odd at first, but after watching the film, I was reaffirmed with how I want to live my life. The film is about Marcello Rubini, a well-to-do journalist for a gossip magazine. His life is filled with decadence, frivolity and meaningless relationships that are just for fun. He ignores his girlfriend, flirts with a famous American actress and often thinks of only himself as he cruises the underground subculture of Rome.

Obviously, there should be no way that I could relate to this film. But Fellini hides issues deep within this story about greed, society, life and finding your place in the world. By showing the frivolous lifestyle of Marcello, we see that what matters in life isn’t wealth, power or lovers. Although Marcello has everything from a great car to many adoring women, he is never happy and never satisfied. The woman who loves him the most throws herself at him with care, love and support, but all he can do is turn her away.

Through this, we see an amazingly tragic character following the path of greed and lust down a road of destruction. Without actually having to be someone with hedonistic tendencies or a want for wealth and power, you can feel for Marcello as he searches for what matters in life and finds nothing. It’s hard to watch at times since he is such a tragic person. But in watching it, you get a reinforced view that life isn’t about simply feeling good all the time.

Although the film is from the ’60s and made in Rome, any person from any culture can grab hold of the message that Fellini is portraying through La Dolce Vita. The film transcends culture and language barriers that many foreign films sometimes fail to surpass. The story is a human story and not one strictly for Italians.

The lengths by which Fellini goes to show us these characters makes it one of the finest viewing experiences in which one can ever partake. Certain shots and scenes scream out the beauty of life. There is no better city to place this tale than that of Rome. One specific scene that shows the perfection yet the danger of the fruits of life is when the American actress Sylvia jumps into the Trevi Fountain in a long black dress and plays in awe at the sheer beauty of the fountains statues. The black dress shows the dangers and the beauty of Sylvia, and the fountain tempts Marcello, who soon jumps in and joins her.

Another amazing aspect that this film shows us is that no life that seems perfect is a happy one. The character of Steiner makes the movie’s finest statement on life and shows Marcello that life needs uncertainty.

“Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.”

La Dolce Vita is a film that resonates with all of humanity. It is a life-changing view of what a life of luxury and money will get you. Fellini takes the issue and wraps it in a beautifully-filmed masterpiece.

tsikitp1@lasalle.edu