MovieChat Forums > Giulietta degli spiriti (1965) Discussion > Out of this world

Out of this world

posted 9 years ago by mevmijaumau
2 replies | jump to latest

Juliet of the Spirits is a very special film for me. It's generally not one of the most praised Fellini films, but I don't think I've ever seen anything like it, not even in other Fellini films.

A lot of movies are thought of as being dreamlike, but this one really does feel like a dream. It's like Fellini used a dream-recording device like the one from Paprika on himself and then just edited the opening/closing credits onto it and called it a wrap. That's the best description of JotS I can come up with, dreamlike. Even though the storyline itself is consistent, nothing in this movie feels like it's set in reality.

The strange hallucination scenes, magic realism, sporadic childhood flashbacks, vivid colors and an aethereal feel to it really make this film what it is. It's so spontaneous that knowing that this film was scripted, rehearsed, edited and planned almost ruins that strange aura of its. Also, the music by Nino Rota is one of the best movie soundtracks I've ever heard (at times it's similar to La dolce vita's), and Masina is as charming as ever before or since. A very, very underrated film.

[–] aaahmemories 9 years ago

Agreed on every point. This is perhaps my favorite film of all time, although I waver between it and 2001. I sometimes think this is my heart's favorite while 2001 is my head's favorite.

By an almost preternatural quirk of fate, I own the piano music of Nino Rota's incredible score, found in a forgotten music store and on sale for pennies. It's a remarkable little book, something like a photocopy of handwritten music. I can't think it's Rota's hand itself, more like a copyist assigned to the task. Whatever it might be, it's the entire score as heard in the film. I sometimes think this is a sign (and believe me, I'm not religious) that JotS and I are somehow mystically joined.

Religion is like a rocking chair -- a lot of work to get nowhere.

[–] lubin-freddy 9 years ago

I too agree, that his is one of Fellini's greatest films.

In addition to what was said above, I also feel that it has a strong emotional core. I we didn't CARE about Giulietta, and her situation, the whole film would have been a cinematic exercise, and little more (like some of Fellini's later films).

That makes the ending even more meaningful, and touching.

"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."