La Dolce Vita. 1960. Italy . Directed by Federico Fellini. Screenplay by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rondi. With Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furnaux. 4K digital restoration. In Italian; English subtitles. 173 min.
A tabloid journalist, played by the infinitely dapper and cool Marcello Mastroianni in his first collaboration with Fellini, takes a front-row seat in Rome’s exclusive, glossy world of wealth, fame, and vanity. The decadence and hollowness of elite society is evident, but even the most jaded can’t help but be seduced by its glamor. Mastroianni’s dreamlike frolic in the Trevi Foundation with Anita Ekberg, appearing as an otherworldly starlet in a ravishing evening gown, remains one of the most iconic scenes in cinema. A big international hit, La Dolce Vita also took the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.