Federico Fellini's "Amarcord" ("I Remember") is a ravishing memory film in which reminiscence, rumor, legend, local history and male sexual fantasies flow into one another with the ease and grace for which Fellini was justly famous.
It is a reminder too of the formidable evocative powers of two key Fellini collaborators, composer Nino Rota and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, who supervised this new 35-millimeter restoration of the 1970s film.
The story, set in the 1930s, centers on teenage Titta (Bruno Zanin), functioning here as the director's alter ego, and his volatile yet loving family. A central figure is Gradisca (Magali Noel), a sultry beauty salon proprietor, a sexual magnet who nevertheless finds love elusive.
As it passes from one spring season to the next, "Amarcord" unfolds as a pageant, a fresco, in the splendid Fellini tradition that embraces the fantastic, the hilarious, the grotesque and the unexpectedly beautiful. But Fellini does not overlook the era's brutal Fascist rule, satirizing its absurd pomposity and the naivete of Mussolini machismo worship. Yet he leaves us with the hope that the human comedy just may be able to survive everything.
"Amarcord" is in striking contrast to the also semi-autobiographical "I Vitelloni" (1953). Fellini, in the earlier film, revealed his need to escape the indolence and self-delusions of his friends, if he was ever to make something of himself. Two decades later and long-celebrated as a great director, Fellini was able to revisit his youth with a lighter yet just as clear-eyed a spirit.
-- Kevin Thomas
"Amarcord." MPAA rating: unrated. In Italian with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes. At the Nuart through Thursday, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles. (310) 281-8223.
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'Fuel' to the fire of oil addiction
"Fuel" is a vital, superbly assembled documentary that presents an insightful overview of America's troubled relationship with oil and how alternative and sustainable energies can reduce our country's -- and the world's -- addictive dependence on fossil fuels.
The film's structure is built around director-narrator Josh Tickell's personal journey of enlightenment, which started in childhood after moving with his family from idyllic Australia to murkier Louisiana, where he came to realize the oil-rich environment was being ravaged by the omnipotent petrochemical industry. Later, as a young adult, he spent 11 years crossing the country in his vegetable oil-powered "Veggie Van," promoting biofuels and compiling footage for what would become this impressively comprehensive film.
