Federico Fellini is one of those directors—the kind whose name gets tossed around cocktail parties and chic uniplexes. But anyone who’s managed to sit through one of his rather long films knows why he’s got the salivating critical community around his finger, and why his name is almost a genre in and of itself.
Extending the original weeklong running time, the E Street Cinema will be screening Amarcord, Fellini’s largely autobiographical film set in his childhood town of Rimini in 1930s fascist Italy. The town, whether tragic or jubilant, is the film’s protagonist. Scenes follow different sets of characters, perhaps some more than others, but the overriding effect is a grand and vibrant portrait of a community. The town parades through every season and mourns every loss, never abandoning her innate Italian playfulness and romanticism.
Yes, it is odd that the town is the main character of Fellini’s Amarcord, but this, combined with the sheer vitality of Fellini’s portrayal, leads to an altogether unique effect. You might leave the theater with the vague sensation that perhaps you were the film’s focus, and that Federico Fellini created this beautiful place just for you to react to—not all that unlike our own relationship with this world.
E Street Cinema is located at 555 11th St. NW.
