Let's set things straight: though Fellini often uses various parts of his own life, if you take a quick look at his story of his life you will soon realise that - as expected - it is constructed from fragments, anecdotes and legends. In other words, the character of Titta does not directly represent the director - though they do have some shared memories. On this occasion, the screenwriters - Tonino Guerra and Fellini - tell the story in a style akin to that of Bohumil Hrabal's Uncle Pepin. There are even narrators...
For Fellini fans, Amarcord is a must. Essential. And, for once, the director places the film into the framework of a loosely edited story. Amarcord is the story of a year - from poplar seeds to poplar seeds, and from a winter's pagan ceremony to a wedding. Life and death in the life of a small town. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad. The characters, however, are incredibly strong. And, once again, we can see that with Fellini, casting is key. And they are not thinking merely of epic womanly curves. Extreme physical characteristics are a recurring theme in his films. Fat people and thin people, giants and dwarves. Beauty does, though, make an appearance in most of his films. Not necessarily conventional beauty, or even that of the fashion of the times. Instead, it is far more often the beauty in the eye of the observers in the story and the audience displayed on the screen. (There are also times when Fellini will use a true beauty, though this is likely to be beauty that represents purity and a sphere above and beyond bodily functions.) It is also worth noting how he uses physical imperfections (warts, freckles, scars, etc.) to help define the characters in his films. There is no question that Fellini's films have inspired many directors. It is easy, for example, to see the influence of Amarcord in the films of Giuseppe Tornatore.
In Italian, with Hungarian subtitles.
The discussions before and after the screening are conducted in Hungarian.
