Roma (1972)

Travelogue, memoir and exuberant cinematic spectacle come together in this kaleidoscopic ode to the Eternal City, seen through the eyes of one of its most famous inhabitants. One moment warm and dreamy, the next oppressively full of energy: Federico Fellini’s urban fantasy weaves together memories of his youth in Mussolini’s Italy with an impressionistic portrait of modern Rome. Together with his film crew, Fellini roams the city, searching for images of its bustling urban life. Sex, food and nightlife go hand in hand with a hallucinatory ecclesiastical fashion show, whilst traces of the past constantly emerge: the Colosseum, wedged between the heavy traffic; centuries-old frescoes uncovered during work on a metro tunnel; a statue of Caesar covered in pigeon droppings. In a dizzying combination of documentary spontaneity and exuberant fiction, *Roma* unravels the myth and mystique of the legendary Italian capital. Fellini once called Rome ‘the most beautiful film set in the world.’ (1972 · Federico Fellini · 128 min) Screening at De Uitkijk.