I vitelloni
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
As summer draws to a close, a violent downpour interrupts a beach-side beauty pageant in a provincial town on the Adriatic coast. Sandra Rubini (Leonora Ruffo), elected "Miss Siren of 1953", suddenly grows upset and faints: rumours fly that she’s expecting a baby by inveterate skirt chaser Fausto Moretti (Franco Fabrizi). Under pressure from Francesco (Jean Brochard), his respectable father, Fausto agrees to a shotgun wedding. After the sparsely attended middle-class ceremony, the newlyweds leave town on their honeymoon.
Unemployed and living off their parents, Fausto's twenty-something friends kill time shuffling from empty cafés to seedy pool halls to aimless walks across desolate windswept beaches. During the interim, they perform immature pranks. Taunting honest road workers from the safety of a luxury car they never earned, they're given a sound thrashing when it runs out of gas.
Moraldo Rubini (Franco Interlenghi), Sandra's brother and the youngest of the five vitelloni, uncomfortably observes Fausto's womanizing as he ponders his own existence, dreaming of ways to escape to the big city. Riccardo (Riccardo Fellini), the baritone, nourishes unrealistic ambitions to sing and act. Alberto (Alberto Sordi), the daydreamer, is supported by his mother and self-reliant sister, Olga (Claude Farell). Vulnerable and effeminate, he's unhappy that Olga is secretly dating a married man. Leopoldo (Leopoldo Trieste), the aspiring dramatist, writes a play that he discusses with Sergio Natali (Achille Majeroni), an eccentric stage actor he hopes will perform in it.
Back from his honeymoon and settled in with Sandra, Fausto is forced to accept a job as a stockroom assistant in a religious-articles shop owned by Michele Curti (Carlo Romano), a friend of his father-in-law's. Incorrigible, he pursues other women even in his wife's presence.
At the annual masquerade ball, Fausto is bedazzled by the mature beauty of Giulia Curti (Lída Baarová), his employer’s wife. Alberto, in drag and half-drunk, executes a surrealistic dance across the ballroom floor with a goofy carnival head made of papier-mâché. Returning home at dawn, Alberto is devastated to find his sister running off for good with her married lover. Fausto’s naive attempt to seduce Giulia results in his being humiliated and then fired by her husband. In revenge, he steals the statue of an angel in gold paint from his former employer, enlisting the loyal Moraldo to help him sell it to a monk. Suspicious, the monk turns down the offer. Fausto ends up giving the statue to a simple-minded peasant (Silvio Bagolini) who sets the angel on a mound outside his hovel, admiring it from afar.
One evening after a variety show, Leopoldo agrees to accompany old Sergio for a walk along the seashore to discuss the merits of his play but when the actor propositions him, he takes to his heels in horror. Learning of Fausto’s one-night stand with an actress, Sandra runs away from home, taking the baby with her. Riccardo, Alberto, Leopoldo, and Moraldo all join in Fausto’s desperate search to retrieve his wife and child. When they find her at the home of Fausto’s father, Francesco pulls off his belt in a rage and finally whips his son. Later Fausto and Sandra walk home happily, with optimism about their life together. Resolved to abandon the provincial monotony of his dead-end town, Moraldo boards the train for anyplace else (Rome), imagining his vitelloni friends sleeping their lives away.

Review: Needless to say, the intelligentsia of the period didn't warm to this film, even as the film-going public in Europe loved it, recognizing themselves and their friends and their own hometowns in it.Just as Shakespeare shows us the brilliant results of striving within the non-negotiable limits of the nine-line sonnet or the blank verse of his plays, Fellini achieves genius in this film, stylistically, from the fruitful tension between the dictates of Neo-Realist imperatives (which no young Italian director of the Fifties could ignore if he wanted a career), and the dictates of his own vision.
I was impressed then, and recently saw it again and was touched anew by these characters.Then I noted that Martin Scorsese, in his documentary about Italian film on Turner Movies Classics ("My Voyage to Italy") names this film as a huge inspiration for his film "Mean Streets" -- and I felt totally exonerated that I had always placed this film up there with La Strada, 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, and Amarcord.Scorsese sets the record straight about how these characters are successfully fleshed out -- including Moraldo, the Fellini autobiographical character.
I Vitelloni, directed by Fellini in 1953 was his first international success.Although it is largely autobiographical in nature there is no obvious mention of Rimini,an Italian coastal town where Fellini was born.There are things to be learned from this film such as erratic behavior of a generation which grew up after second world war.This was the one of the rare post war films which spoke of conflicts within family.It is true that Italian master has drawn an honest portrait of aimless youngsters who were not fit for anything but what might be intriguing to an average viewer is to ascertain as to why Fellini decided not to throw some light about why his protagonists were like that ?
In a small seaside town in Italy, Moraldo Rubini (Franco Interlenghi), Alberto (Alberto Sordi), Fausto Moretti (Franco Fabrizi), Leopoldo Vannucci (Leopoldo Trieste) and Riccardo (Riccardo Fellini) form a group of idle friends that spend their time together doing nothing but drinking, flirting and going to parties.
However, the irresponsible Fausto remains unfaithful to Sandra, cheating her with many women and almost leading his family to a tragedy."I Vitelloni" is an Italian melodrama with the signature of Federico Fellini: excellent production, great music score, outstanding interpretations, wonderful cinematography.
The same goes about this film:it's the story of five young men living in a small town(most likely Fellini's birthplace Rimini) in post-second-world-war Italy.
There is even a storyteller and what struck me from the first scene was the resemblance with Scorsese using the same story-telling technique in Goodfellas or Casino,in order to make the story more actual,credible and more accessible to the viewer,to better get in the mood(no wonder that Scorsese adored this film and probably even used it as a source of inspiration).In a warm,typically Italian,partly poetic,partly ironic tone the five are introduced in such a way that the viewer gradually gets the feeling of having known these characters since childhood.
Fellini is obviously self-centered,individualistic,coming to terms with his own strong and uneven ego,so this film is,as some might expect,autobiographical,all the five men being more or less an alter-ego or at least inspired by persons closely connected to him,his childhood&youth,Rimini-every time Fellini fictionalizes his own self,he creates a masterpiece,a Dorian Grey-sort of self-indulgent myth that gets it's value from being this way.While other filmmakers,even accomplished ones would just be hilarious repeating the same sort of characters under different names and plots,Fellini keeps us wanting more and more of his personality,every piece of this intricate puzzle-whether it's this film,La Dolce Vita,81/2,Amacord or several others-providing the intellectual excitement of having discovered more,of having taken a fabulous mental journey,without having revealed(or not even wanting to completely reveal)all of Fellini..
There are humorous moments too and,from a comical viewpoint,Sordi's performance is the best-especially in the extravagant,delirious carnival scene when he dances dressed as a woman to the timeless melody "Titine"(which made film history due to Chaplin's unique performance in Modern Times,Sordi's gestures to the same tune also revealing his immense comical talent,maybe it's Fellini's tribute to another master of cinema,note that while Chaplin sings gibberish,but he suggests a possible storyline with his mimic,the same tune is here strictly instrumental,accompanied by Sordi's mainly visual,almost silent comic style of humor),and,after wards experiences a burlesque hangover including a trumpet,an over-sized head and a seemingly endless monologue.Or,again Sordi in the scene when he's mocking men working at a road for no particular/infantile reasons.Another interesting,yet somewhat tragicomic scenes shows a strict,patriarchal father beating up his son,though his son is an adult,married and with children-showing how traditional family life was regarded in the past,not only in Catholic Italy,at an extent that might seem surrealistic today.
While Amarcord (1973) was a more straight-forward depiction of Fellini's childhood memories, I Vitelloni seems to be based on people he has observed, possibly while growing up, who, like him, sought to break out of small-town life.
Amarcord was a sweet homage to his hometown, but I Vitelloni shows what this kind of life can do to a generation born to parents of sacrifice.The Vitelloni (translated as 'the Boys') consist of Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), a quiet, observant young man; Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), a handsome playboy; Alberto (Alberto Sordi), a daydreamer unhappy at his sister's affair with a married man; and Leopoldo (Leopoldo Trieste), the writer who harbours dreams of writing critically-adored plays.
It's a clever juxtaposition of the generations, and although society will always produce a 'generation X', sometimes a good slap in the face is what is needed.Although Fellini remains somewhat reserved throughout the majority of the film, choosing a still, controlled camera, he breaks out of the neo- Realism approach about half-way through for a scene in which carnival comes to town, with the sound of a lonesome drunken trumpet player running in a circle bellowing in an abandoned dance hall, as the catatonic Alberto staggers outside.
"I Vitelloni" is an early, somehow autobiographical Fellini movie that tells the story of five young men hanging around in a provincial town and trying to make ends meet.
I VITELLONI being for many people the first look at the young talent appeared to be the opening door, a dawn for the career of, though controversial, one of the greatest directors.But that is history and modern viewers usually ask an important question: will I like the film even if I am not a Fellini buff?
I Vitelloni is a classic Fellini drama: there are a few good laughs, but melancholia is a constant and the ending is not exactly a happy one.I Vitelloni follows five friends – Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), Alberto (Alberto Sordi), Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), Leopoldo (Leopoldo Trieste) and Riccardo (Riccardo Fellini) – who are in their thirties but haven't done anything with their lives and don't even have jobs, so they spend their days and nights fooling around and wasting time.
When Fausto is forced to marry Sandra (Leonora Ruffo), because he impregnated her, the others – and especially Alberto – start questioning their existence and their future, while going on with their everyday lives: Leopoldo tries to write a good play, Alberto gets drunk and depressed, Fausto cheats on his wife and Moraldo, the quiet one, observes and narrates the story for the audience."Vitelloni" is a term that was used among young people living in Pescara – the city where Ennio Flaiano, one of the screenwriters, was born – to indicate other young people who spent their days doing nothing, mostly because it was very difficult to find a job in the post-WWII period (which is when the movie is set, too).
The film was shown first in tandem with Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, then with George Lucas' 'American Graffiti', and lastly with Barry Levinson's 'Diner', in what was a fitting tribute not only to the influence that 'I Vitelloni' has had but also to its ability to meet even the highest of comparative standards.The story of this film is simple enough – the audience follows a group of five young men, all of whom are friends, through the off-season in their hometown, a small seaside city in Italy.
Federico Fellini's story of "I Vitelloni" is about five friends trapped in their small Italian town; they go out drinking and pick up women, while avoiding work and responsibility.
The five are Franco Fabrizi (as Fausto), Riccardo Fellini (as Riccardo), Franco Interlenghi (as Moraldo), Alberto Sordi (as Alberto), and Leopoldo Trieste (as Leopoldo).This film certainly does not represent Fellini's best work; it's very difficult to become interested in the lives of the five wastrels - their stories are, indeed, dull!
it would be better named The Middle-aged and Slack!This film is a hilarious look at the lives of a bunch of "young" and completely useless men who still live at home with their mothers avoiding jobs, commitment, or real life.If you enjoyed Slackers, Clerks, Go, and the like, you may well enjoy this film as it fits in well with this genre.The Vitelloni (I don't know what this means but I suspect it means "COMPLETE SLACKERS") wander around town talking about their plans to write the great novel, get married, get a job, etc etc etc but instead tend to end up wearing silly hats and falling over drunk.And it's set in a pretty Italian town, so what more could you want?.
I Vitelloni (1956) *** (out of 4) Federico Fellini film about a group of young men who are in no hurry to grow up and leave their small, lifeless town.
Two American classics were directly influenced by it: Barry Levinson's "Diner" and George Lucas' "American Graffiti." Scores of other films, like Linklater's "Dazed and Confused," share elements or pay homage.The plot of I Vitelloni is more or less just a series of episodes from the young men's lives, set against the slender story of a more independent figure who gently and somewhat unknowingly pursues a psychological break from the group of guys whose loafing, dreaming, and vague rebelliousness have defined his youth.
A character study of five young men at crucial turning points in their lives in a small town in Italy.For Fellini, vitelloni were "the unemployed of the middle class, mother's pets.
Like in the films that later took inspiration from this (director Martin Scorsese lists it as a main influence on his masterpiece Mean Streets), Fellini shows his characters for being brutally human, and for that he adds some fine comedic moments in with the drama.
This review isn't about finding a deep message to this movie or comparing Bellini's work.The story seems simple enough,a group of guys trying to enjoy life but not paying their dues.If that sounds good to you this film will be entertaining.An hard working person that works regularly may find a few flaws with the characters that rub them the wrong way.In life there are some persons if given a job and picked up each morning to go to it would after awhile stop answering the door when the driver shows up.This movie brings together a group of guys that are basically like that to the extent that they make fun of persons that do work.The most amusing thing about them may be that despite lack of employment they dress well and party to the max.When it's carnival time all the people take part but of course when the streets are almost deserted the young guys are still staggering about.It's almost like these young characters make every night new years eve.Most of them have their dreams about being a success,as usual.Fausto may be the exception,he has a one track mind and seems to believe he could seduce a painting.To enjoy this movie it's probably best to put aside your feelings about these kind of persons in life and take a middle of the road stand while viewing it.My personal feelings got in the way while viewing this movie making a seven the highest score I could give it..
They are different - cynical skirt chaser Fausto who is forced to marry a girl pregnant with his baby; the intellectual and ambitious Leopoldo who dreams of becoming a famous writer; the irresponsible "big child" Alberto (Alberto Sordy, the famous comic, absolutely wonderful in his early role), and Moraldo, the only one of the group who in the final scene will leave the town of his childhood to start a new life.I loved I Vitelloni.
Moraldo, who becomes Fausto's brother-in-law, acts as the conscience of these aimless men; he is the only one that has the courage to leave the small town.Fellini collaborated in this film with Tulio Pinelli, a genius in his own right, and Ennio Flaiano, to create a story that was relevant as it depicted the times their country was living.
'I Vitelloni' is one of the key works in the career of legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini; establishing his early style and attention to character detail, whilst simultaneously inspiring the scope and tone of his later films, Nights Of Cabiria and Amarcord.
(Leprohon,who was,as a movie critic as great as Faguet was a literary one,mentioned the melodrama as a feature of the Neorealisms,both the French and the Italian.)I find it pleasing that Fellini displayed his meditation on youth in an epic form.This sketch of the provincial life and of the youth,so compact and of so elegant a drawing,remains open;nothing spectacular happens.No "conclusions" are pushed.But,on the other hand,it is presumable that some of the pals' lives will take an ordinary route.The provincial young men's lives are mirrored.There are several wonderful vignettes,I remember the stumpy Sordi,in drink after a carnival,faltering,stumbling near his friend,then arriving home where his beautiful sister (Claude Farell) is leaving,and Sordi comforting his mother,and I remember Sordi's voice,its modulation.This movie is of such a huge importance because it is Fellini's reflection upon the youth;he was 33 years old when he made "I Vitelloni".I remember two young men dancing mambo in the street,in front of a café.I remember the playwright Leopoldo descending on the seashore with the vicious,vile and lustful histrionic that could try to launch his career.I remember Fausto talking with his patron while they have a liqueur,and the older man trying to explain him about the stuff a couple is made of.Fellini treats this melodrama's content with bonhomie,detachment,comic.This film has not a moral,as it does not teach lessons.He believed in the concreteness,and did not have a "thesis" to hide "behind" what he narrated.His meditation on the youth takes this concrete form.In the group of young men,it emphasizes the diversity and not the uniformity.Fellini was a sensitive,but not an effusive man;this is visible in "I Vitelloni".As usually,his actors are excellent:Franco Fabrizi, Sordi, Interlenghi, Eleonora Ruffo,Lida Baarowa.The movie features several beautiful women,and their charm is powerfully seized by the camera.We may say that,after "I Vitelloni", Fellini will never be Neorealist again."Il Bidone" is a comedy,in its first half,and a Shakespeareian drama,of an unmatched intensity,in its second half."I Vitelloni" is one of the Fellini shows that feature handsome young male leads.Other such movies are "Il Bidone" (that features Franco Fabrizi),"La Dolce ...", "8 1/2", "Giulietta ..." and "Toby ...",then Intervista (1987) .Interlenghi belongs to a type of peninsular male suave beauty,other exponents being a Mastroianni and a Giancarlo Giannini ,who may look like a chef or like a cheeky bureaucrat but is none the less a goodly man.In Fellini two things are obvious:his fascination with women,with actresses,a theme that deserves a copious,special treatment;and his lack of any sensual ardor,lack that has,as a positive side,the decency and sobriety,with respect to the explicit sexuality,of his movies.As in "Il Bidone",in "I Vitelloni" the party is the source of a certain dizziness and dereliction,with people deserted of any substance,which makes the innocent,sincere joy of the undisguised, undefended,pure and naive characters all the more heart-breaking,as they look helpless,exposed and lost.Watch "Sandra" at the carnival;see,also,Mrs. Giulietta Masina in "Il Bidone".As Dostoievsky,as Kusturica,Fellini has an immediate and vital need of such pure,good characters that give the world a meaning;they are not conventions,but immediate expressions of Fellini's need of purity and goodness.There is the tendency to believe that behind Fellini's stories there is a meaning,other than what is shown and obvious;this is true,but not if we seek a "thesis" about life.Fellini's movies mean what they "seem" to mean,and are what they seem to be.So,as a young man,Fellini was not ashamed of resorting to melodrama,and his melodrama must be taken as such,not as a "screen" that hides another thing."I Vitelloni" is stylized,but in the story's service,and one can feel Fellini's will of realism,his will of giving a precise description of the provincial life and of the youth.Significantly,the camera never leaves the province town throughout the movie.Nino Rota's score underlines the melodrama.Fellini's narrative characteristic is one that breaks any frame,as it transcends any:ambiguous,at the same time impassible and warm,gentle and dispassionate,delicate and detached and comic;and I think this ambiguity is paired with the cinema's possibilities,that Fellini explored as no other did.The cinema proved apt to serve Fellini's unique qualities as no other art form would have.And by Fellini,cinema itself is firmly established in its individuality.Fellini's biography was always a theme worthy of Fellini."I Vitelloni" is one in a string of explicit autobiographical movies that take as substance Fellini's own life;he made films about himself in the primary sense,and this is a sign of great distinction."I Vitelloni" has a sequel.It is,34 years later,another masterpiece,Intervista (1987)..
Fausto is the one whose character's arc is closed and the others will probably find a meaning to their lives, and if Moraldo still doesn't know how to fill the three dots, the best he can do is leaving the town, and find his way.Now, it's impossible not to look at the film without nostalgic eyes, at a beautiful tribute to a lost era where even unemployed and lonely people could enjoy simple pleasures like drinking, dancing, going to the beach and hanging out with friends, a time with more innocence and without the Internet.