Osiem i pół

By taking up the problem of creative impotence, Federico Fellini paradoxically creates a film which, like no other, expresses the power of the cinematic medium and its latent creative potential. A sequence of loosely connected scenes, suspended somewhere between reality and dream, finds its resolution in the unforgettable final sequence. On a beach resembling a circus arena, a procession of all the characters previously seen in the film appears. Guido, suddenly regaining his creative fervour, begins to direct them like a filmmaker on set, staging an extraordinary spectacle affirming life and art, unfolding to the rhythm of Nino Rota’s march.

Maria Kornatowska, who was accustomed to describe 8½ as “Wagnerian cinema,” argues that the genius of this work has its roots in the exceptional creative sensitivity of the Italian master from Rimini. “Unlike most directors, Fellini subordinated technique to art, making it the humble servant of a magician tracing his ASA NISI MASA on the screen. He tamed and mastered the obstinate substance of film matter, turning it into an obedient instrument of his own imagination. One does not feel the weight of the cinematic machine, and nothing seems to limit the artist’s imagination.”