Otto E Mezzo (8½) - English subtitled
After the success of La Dolce Vita, Fellini conjured himself out of an artistic impasse with this autobiographical magnum opus about a film director experiencing creative block.
Guido Anselmi, a film director, is stuck for inspiration in the middle of writing a screenplay. He withdraws to a health resort. His wife Louisa, his mistress Carla, his friends, his actors and his producer come to pay a visit. They all want him to finish writing the film. He takes refuge in endless daydreaming. Wandering between dream and reality, imagination and memory, Fellini plays out his own anxiety toward creation.
Taking its title from the number of films Fellini had completed up to this point (including some short segments for anthology films), OTTO E MEZZO features Guido being besieged by sycophants and collaborators as he struggles to get started on an unwieldy science-fiction epic. A favourite film among film directors, Fellini’s film was the model for several subsequent films about filmmaking, notably Woody Allen’s STARDUST MEMORIES (1980).