Review of Juliet of the Spirits (1965) by Ahmedaiman9999 — 07 Oct 2018

This is the first Fellini film I watch, and also it's the first time I found myself riveted and bored at the same time while watching a movie!

This is definitely one of the most eccentric and whimsical movies I've ever watched. Maybe it's too whimsical for its own good!

The movie as a whole didn't work for me, and I'm not really sure that I liked it. It feels like an overlong self-indulgent journey of surrealism. Undeniably, the movie could have been shorter, because it doesn't have too much to say. There is a lack of narrative cohesion, vision and creativity. That made the movie doesn't seem to focus on its main themes, but instead it uses a lot of unnecessary repetitive sub-plots that don't add so much to the main plot.There are a lot of things to admire about it, though.

Juliet of the Spirits is Fellini's first work in color, and it's one of the most beautiful and colorful movies I've seen in my life! It's nothing short of eye-catching. The movie also has a harmonious music that set the tone and created a unique atmosphere from the beginning. I also liked how the hallucination scenes were directed. Some of them were very disturbing, and not easy to watch. Also, the symbolism that has been used to depict the psyche of Giulietta Boldrini is awe-inspiring! From the technical standpoint this movie is almost perfect, except for the editing; it was really awful!

Giulietta Masina delivered a very expressive and emotional performance. I also appreciated the themes of the story. I actually was somewhat invested, once the movie focus on its main story. The only time the movie did so was in the last 20 minutes. I think the ending deserves 5 stars!

(6.