Juliet of the Spirits
Posted by martinteller on July 18, 2009
There’s a lot to love about this movie: the Nino Rota score, the eye-popping Technicolor cinematography (Fellini’s first color film), the amusing flights of fancy, and the endless array of unique, unforgettable visuals. Several times I found myself gasping in awe (or delight, such as the tongue-in-cheek tribute to the final scene of Seventh Seal) at what I was witnessing. Of all the films I’ve seen by him, it most fully embodies the spirit of what we think of when we say “Felliniesque”. However, this has a downside. Masina’s performance often gets overwhelmed by the carnival-like festivities, both real and imagined. Subsequently, I found it much harder to care for Juliet like I do for Cabiria. And with the minor characters doing so much theatrical mugging for the camera, it frequently feels like Masina is stuck hanging out with those obnoxious kids from the high school drama club. It occasionally gets tiresome, especially with such a lengthy running time. Still, if this came out on Blu-Ray I’d probably see it again, maybe even buy it, for the magnificent imagery if nothing else. Rating: 8
