8 1/2

"8 1/2," an impressionistic self-portrait by Federico Fellini, might be termed a stream-of-consciousness film. From beginning to end, the movie follows the mind of film director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni). It begins in one of his dreams; it ends with his ecstatic vision of joy.

In between, "8 1/2" moves with Guido through a despair that remains unresolved until the final scene. Guido's health has collapsed--he has gone to a fashionable spa in an attempt to recover; his marriage has broken down--his wife (Anouk Aimee), aware of his infidelities with a dull, bovine mistress, is ready to ask for a separation; and his creativity is at an end--he cannot get started on the film he is directing. His friends are falling away, though a mob of admirers follows him almost everywhere, firing inane questions that melt into a babble of noise.

He searches for means of escape, but can find none. Religion? A cardinal can only repeat banalities that have no relevance to Guido's plight. Filial loyality? His father is dead and he remembers how his selfish mother castigated him in his youth. A white-clad girl (Claudia Cardinele) tells him that she wants to bring order and cleanliness into his life; he finds her complete innocence no better than escapism. Finally he turns to thoughts of suicide (prompted by a diabolical character who springs up at his side several times during the film.) After he rejects self-destruction, he accepts the solution that leads to his vision in the final scene. "I do love you; I do accept you," he cries. "How simple it is." And to his wife, "Life is a holiday; let us live it together."

But "8 1/2" cannot be described by a plot summary. The narrative is augmented by endlessly suggestive details: the costumes (varying from the pure white of the girl who offers order to the pure black of the magnificent monster-woman Saraghina, who gave the young Guido his first sexual experience), the music (an orchestra blares out Wotan's theme from the Twilight of the Gods while the camera focuses on the faces of the old men and women who crowd the health resort), the juxtaposition of lines, and, most of all, the endless convolutions of the plot. The film Guido is directing is similar in many respects to "8 1/2" itself, and his descriptions of the film-within-a-film help define Fellini's work. Often the film proceeds without clear reference to either plot; thus Guido explains to the actress Claudia that she will portray an innocent girl in white who offers innocence to the hero--after such a girl (played by the same actress) has already appeared in a vision to him. In another scene the characters watch other actors audition for the roles they are playing. Flashback scenes add a third frame of references, a fourth of sorts is created by scenes which act out Guido's wishes. In one he is surrounded by a harem of doting women who cater to his every wish; in another a carping critic mouthing platitudinous attacks on the film is led away by two men and hanged.

Fellini handles his material brilliantly. The involved plotting and the symbolism are used to make the audience lost its sense of reality, but they are never allowed to become distracting. And all the plots, all the symbolism are resolved in the final scene.

"8 1/2" will be at the Harvard Square for one more day. If you haven't seen it yet, by all means, do; this is one movie you shouldn't miss. And do not get there late; the first scene is not only a splendid mood-setter, but also a miniature masterpiece.