I have to say, I was really enjoying this movie up until the flash forward at the end . That party at Ricardo's villa just went on and on and ON.
And I hear from the DVD commentary that it was supposed to be an orgy (?!) Either our commentator is confused or it's the tamest, most polite orgy in history.
Could someone please tell me why the party had to be so much longer and less dynamic than any other segment in the movie?
You are wrong
That is the greatest scene in the movie. It's hypnotic ...
I was in a bit of a trance too during that scene, this entire movie is amazing!!
shareI didn't notice it going on too long, but I didn't enjoy that scene that much. Was interesting to see Marcello at rock bottom, but most of the other characters were intensely annoying. Which was possibly the point as they were a bunch of decadent idiots which Marcello had gotten himself mixed up with.
shareLet's do this, let's do that.
I love you, I love you too. No wait, I actually don't.
This felt like A Bout de Souffle but without the charm and told 3x slower.
I felt that final scene like a real party, you know: everybody talk nounsenses, everybody's drunk, I felt intoxicated with the feeling of being drunk and disorienteded, and at the very last escene a glimpse of a simpler life (the girl), which one as a spectator can't relate anymore, just like Marcello and the other fellows at the beach.
shareyeah that party scene reminded me of my early partying days where we all just hung out in a room talkin crap and riding each other. It was hypnotic because it felt just like you were there with them, intoxicated. Great scene.
No expectations, no disappointments.
It's supposed to seem endless, because it's actually the rest of Marcello's life. Everything is going to be like that for him from now on, desperately trying to generate some excitement or sensation, and always failing miserably, leaving him with ashes.
As for the orgy, in a way I'm glad they weren't allowed to be as graphic as filmmakers can be today. By hinting at what couldn't be shown, there's a certain level of sheer nastiness & emptiness that permeates everything; while at the same time, we can see how meaningless & pathetic their efforts really are. And it allows each viewer to fantasize about what's going on just outside the frame -- all to the good, since individual imagination will trump any one specific image presented blatantly. Whatever you personally find to be both disgusting & appealing at the time, that's what's going on.
Excellent.
PS - And, I have not measured, but I bet this party scene is shorter than the "Oi'm gittin' marri'd in th' moarnin'" segment of My Fair Lady.
My Fair Lady is one of my favorite movies of all time but I always forward that part.
I think the climax was supposed to feel endless and interminable. it doesn't look like a very enjoyable party just a lot of dumb nonsense, meaningless.
MathurMarquee.Blogspot.com Facebook.com/MathurMarquee
This. Totally this.
sharePerfect.
The whole film has been trembling at the edge of the abyss, and the party scene is deep down in it. No wonder the OP liked everything but--that's his desire, his vain hope, that someone like Marcello could successfully navigate the edge of the abyss and never be swallowed by it.
Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.share
The party wasn't necessarily meant to be an orgy. Marcello tries to turn it into one as he starts ordering people to get together. It never actually becomes one. I believe it was so long because they wanted to show the endless and meaningless life(not literally but something along those lines) that Marcello is leading through the endless night that just never seems to stop. If you felt like the party felt endless, then you got exactly the message they were trying to give out
share[deleted]
I thought the party scene - and its seashore epilogue - were easily the best and the moste entertaining parts of the movie. Now, the false miracle scene, for example - that's another story.
shareDepressing and exhausting .