Part of films ephemeral
quality is that its meaning changes with the each observer and as that
individual observer changes, evolves, age, their interpretation of the art may also
change. Pop culture and meta references in La Dolce Vita (1960) get lost among
the over reading and analysis as a piece of art. La Dolce Vita (1960) is one of
the most important films by one of the most important directors (I’m not sure
but I’m pretty sure I stole that from the back of the Criterion Collection box)
so the academic and critical analysis of the film is certainly warranted and I
will in no way try to argue against that. Yes La Dolce Vita (1960) is high art
but let’s not be so precious that we don’t take notice that Nico having a cameo
as Nico is completely pop and delightful. Nico rose to fame as a Warhol
Superstar during the 1960s. Contemporary audiences due to time, place, and
other factors that add context may miss some of the references, tips of the
cap, and winks at the camera a 1960 audience would of immediately caught.
The casting of Lex Barker as Sylvia’s drunken fiancé in La Dolce Vita (1960) is superb. He is a
caricature yet utterly believable as the drunken American oaf. A difference in
a 2015 screening from a 1960 screening of the film is many contemporary viewers
will not remember Lex Barker as the matinee idol who played Tarzan five times. A
contemporary example would be to have Chris Hemsworth the actor who portrays
the Norse god Thor in the cinematic adaptation of the Marvel universe. To a
certain demographic of the audience in 1960 they would immediately recognize
their favorite loincloth wearing, vine swinging, king of the jungle, Tarzan starring
in one of the film’s vignettes. The casting of this role is one of many
examples of the merger of pop culture, high art, and craftsmanship that
permeate La Dolce Vita (1960).
Nino Rota scored many of Fellini’s films and was a long
time collaborator. Nino Rota is also noted for scoring The Godfather (1972) and The
Godfather Part II (1974). Nino Rota will forever be immortalized as the
composer of The Godfather Waltz. La Dolce Vita (1960) has Rota and Fellini collaborating
again. Rota’s score can be heard in the opening and conclusion of the film but
the majority of the film uses a pop music soundtrack. The song Patricia by
Perez Prado is featured prominently in the film. Billboard ranked Patricia as
the #5 song of 1958 and it hit #1 on the billboard charts that same year.
Patricia continues to be part of the zeitgeist being used in shows like The
Simpsons and HBO’s Real Sex. A contemporary audience may hear Patricia and
think it’s ironic, whimsical, or nostalgic. In 1960 this soundtrack was the
height of pop culture. At the end of the film as in the beginning the pop
soundtrack is replaced by the score. During the string of decedent evenings a
fun pop soundtrack is used in the film allowing the viewer to get lost in the
charisma of the actors but once the score replaces the soundtrack the viewer
knows the dream the party and or dream are over. The pop soundtrack ends just
as Marcello’s ambition to be a serious writer ends and Rota’s score begins
again book ending the film.
La Dolce Vita (1960) lampoons the vapid drunken nights of
café culture in Rome yet it can’t help being immersed and celebrating what it’s
deriding. It’s like stockbrokers who love to watch Wall Street (1987) or
criminals who glorify Scarface (1983). All three afore mentioned films are
completely self aware that what they are showing you is nothing to be emulated,
yet all three are films whose heightened stylized worlds are something
audiences fall in love with and glorify. Fellini tells you it’s an empty life yet
audiences can’t help but be enraptured by celebrity, sex, fancy clothes, and
all the trapping of modern café culture in Rome. Sylvia’s character is a
metaphor for the themes of the film. She is shallow and impetuous but she is so
sexy you understand why everyone puts up with her nonsense. Fellini represents
café culture the same way. It’s vapid and meaningless yet it’s so sexy and
decedent it’s hard to resist.
Nico was a model, anti-Semite, actress, and musician most
famous for her collaborations with Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground. In
La Dolce Vita (1960) Nico has a cameo playing herself. Fellini was not only the
film’s director but also co-writer and created the part specifically for her. Marcello
is a gossip journalist in a chic European city why wouldn’t he know Nico? But
isn’t Nico a real person and the movie a work of fiction? This is another
example of Fellini using pop culture to create his universe. If Nico is a real
person and if she appears in the movie does that make the movie real life or
make real life a movie? Something seemingly innocuous like a cameo of a pop
star suddenly adds to the surreal quality of the seemingly endless string of
decedent evenings followed by repentant dawns.
Fellini is one of cinema’s most acclaimed directors. When
discussing the great auteur directors Fellini’s name is always mentioned. La Dolce Vita (1960) is such a dense
film it can literally be broken down frame by frame and I’m sure it has been by
scholars and critics alike. La Dolce Vita
(1960) seamlessly synthesizes pop culture in a manner not many films that are
considered high art have accomplished. Fellini’s use of pop culture doesn’t
diminish his art he uses it to enhance his art. For me this hits a real
nostalgic sweet spot. I first began to appreciate film not just as escapism but
as an art form during the rise of American independent film during the early to
mid 1990’s. Many of the writer directors of that era most notably Quentin
Tarantino create a heightened stylized
world peppered with pop culture references to ground their fictionalized
universes in realism. It creates a soft focus reflection of our own world where
the women are prettier, the dialogue is slicker, and the life is sweeter.
ByJ. Scott Cohen
