Year 1953 : First international success by Italian auteur of dreams.

I Vitelloni (1953) directed by Federico Fellini

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 ? This is the reason why Fellini has left all important reasoning task for viewers to decide about strengths and weaknesses of his protagonists.I Vitelloni is a film in which there is no escape for anyone neither for its young heroes nor for their family members who like them are also trapped in their own dreary existence.

For every Gelsomina there is a Zampano. But it should not be like that !!!

La Strada (1954) directed by Federico Fellini.

La Strada is a highly philosophical tale of religious symbolism,human conduct,remorse and repentance made by one of the greatest masters of world cinema Federico Fellini.For millions of followers of serious cinema genre,he is regarded as one of the greatest dreamers of the world cinema.By making this film, Fellini has made a masterpiece which has accommodated all of his favorite themes like circus,church, male-female relationships etc.La Strada is also outstanding as a visual social comment on the state of affairs of post war Italian society.It was a time of economic misery and people were forced to abandon their children in order to make them earn for the family.The theme of circus is of value to the film as it was the only thing which provided laughs to the people dejected by the trauma of Italy's defeat in World War II.The best tribute that canstrong people can pay to Fellini is by not harassing the weak ones.Richard Basehart looks divine as the fool. Anthony Quinn is devilish as Zampano.Guiletta Masina is sublime as Gelsomina. It was this role which won her worldwide acclaim. If one is looking for a film able to make people better "La Strada" is that very film.