Review of I Vitelloni (1953) by Anthony C — 28 Aug 2008

First of all, excellent title, it couldn't get any more specific and on-point than this: "overgrown calves". And that's exactly what this film is about, it's about the friends that Fellini grew up with, they were likable babies, but in their 30's.

This personal, semi-autobiographical film shows the beginning of Fellini's unique style of storytelling and filmmaking, and at the same time, it shows where he comes from. It's not too personal though, because anyone can enjoy this, especially if they can relate it to it like I did.

I was able to identify friends and cousins of mine in each of the characters, because the meticulous, yet flowing attention to detail in character developement shows that Fellini knows these people like the back of his hand, and he knows what it takes to show them to an audience, without begging that audience to like them. As a matter of fact he doesn't even ask the audience to sympathize for his "overgrown calves (vitelloni)", he just puts them in the spotlight, one by one, the way they are, without watering them down, or tuning them up, then it's up to the audience to judge however they want.

And most importantly, the film is set in the winter; because in the beach town of Rimini where Fellini grew up, Summer is the only season worth living for, and when summer isn't around, people long for it.

I know this because the beach town I grew up in in Sicily was exactly the same.

It's essential to the story because when the summer is gone, that's when the people's true colors show. That's when you can understand what the town is really like, and unfortunately, without the summer, the town is boring, and lonely.

So you would imagine that a film director would chose the most liveliest season for a film to make it more interesting and colorful, but Fellini choses the dark, boring season, so he can concentrate all the attention on his Vitelloni.

The core message in this is: leave while you still can, don't let others (slackers) hold you back, because misery loves company. And even if you're happy, and comfortable with the lazy situation that you're in, remember that progress doesn't come by sitting around enjoying yourself and hollering at the ladies.

I enjoyed the underlying messages more than the movie itself.