I Vitelloni (1953)

3/5

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/

I Confess (1953)

4/5

I Confess is a wonderful lost gem from Hitchcock's oeuvre. A priest (Montgomery Clift) is falsely accused of murder and, despite knowing who the real murderer is, he decides to keep silent because it was revealed to him during confession. In typical Hitchcock style, the composition and camerawork were excellent, but the complex and realistic characters were the best part of this movie. Much like Casablanca, the audience's emotional attachment to each character shifts throughout the film, switching back and forth between love and hate as information is gradually revealed. I loved how seemingly minor characters (such as Keller's wife) emerge as being vital to the plot, tension, and even message. The acting by all parties was very good overall, although at times a bit too exaggerated. While the story plodded along in the middle (and was interesting although not particularly suspenseful), the thrilling finale was especially brilliant. It went deeper into the consequences of the characters' actions than you thought it would, and the characters themselves feel much fuller and richer as their motivations and regrets (or lack thereof) are further revealed.

I felt that some of this movie was below average and could have been heavily improved upon. The script had some problems, not in dialogue, but in overall structure. The heavy use of flashback in Anne Baxter's interrogation, coupled with its clunky style and lack of rhythm, simply did not work. The trial could have and should have been made more compelling; it seemed as if there was no climax here, merely a playing out of events. And while the score by Dimitri Tiomkin wasn't bad, it has nothing on the perfectly seamless integration Hitchcock usually has with Bernard Herrmann. I also have no idea why the film was set in Quebec; it just seemed odd. The rest, though, is an unexpected joy to behold, and is highly recommended.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0045897/