Review of Amarcord (1973) by Vince D — 18 Feb 2011

A loosely structured story about growing up in Italy during Federico's youth. Bruno Zanin as Titta stands in for Federico Fellini. Multiple narrators take turns speaking to the camera to explain customs and tell somewhat tall tales.

This caused me to not really identify with any one character. I didn't get too attached to anyone. It was nice that Titta became a familiar face, but even he was more of an observer of the craziness around him and didn't have a strong voice.

As I was watching the movie on Mubi the word episodic came to mind as I watched the large cast, but later it just seemed unfocused. The sense of make-believe and flights of imagination were enjoyable.

But it was hard to find a solid base to come back to after each adventure. Again and again bawdy and earthy struck me as perfect words to describe the people of this Italian town.