Federico Fellini's I Vitelloni follows a group of five lazy punks in their late 20's who hang out, womanize, and make mischief, all while living with their parents. They are a vulgar and unlikable group of young men, and watching them rouse rabble is not as enlightening or awe-inspiring as Fellini perhaps intended it to be. It is apparently somewhat autobiographical, which I lament, and may therefore have much more meaning to him than to me. It is at the very least more engrossing than other Italian films I've seen of late (La Notte, L'Eclisse), mostly because this one has plot progression, but it was not a particularly pleasant or enjoyable experience for me. They're all such awful people and their otiose and indolent lifestyles are too glorified for me to view them with anything but disgust.While I did not like the content of this movie, there were glimmers of technical talent that I did appreciate. Some of the shot compositions were absolutely beautiful. The use of long takes, of fluid camera movement, and of natural blocking gave the film a lifelike yet polished feel. The music was ubiquitous and delectable, although sometimes it bordered a bit too closely on the melodramatic. I really miss this kind of classic filmmaking. If you're interested in tracking Fellini's style over his life's work, then this is definitely an interesting one to watch. If you just want a movie to kick back and enjoy, this may not be the movie for you.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046521/