Phillim
Big dream/nightmare vision of a man in late middle age (dapper hot daddy Marcello Mastroianni) about women, gender politics, and death.Midway through 'City of Women' we are introduced to one Dr. Katzone (literally 'Dr. Big-Dick'), representing the phallocratic, pig-man archetype. He drinks, he bullies, he shoots guns, he objectifies women. He lives in a castle comprising an assemblage of phallic symbols, wherein he has built a giant gallery/pantheon, where framed sexy pictures of his hundreds of 'conquests' light up and speak sexy talk when you push their respective buttons.Fellini cast tough-guy actor Ettore Manni as 'Dr. Big-Dick' -- reportedly to type: the character merely a slight exaggeration of the blustery actor. The Legend: the hyper-masculine Manni was in the habit of tucking a pistol in his pants. During the film shoot, Manni accidentally shot his genitals off and bled to death. Absolutely true? I like to believe it.Anyway, this is a helluva film -- hilarious, surreal, honest. Art director Giorgio Giovaninni deserves many medals.
alidoro
Probably there is no Fellini's film, after Amarcord (1973), with such a high level of mastery as "Otto e mezzo", "La Dulce Vita", and Amarcord. But there are certainly strokes of genius in "E la nave VA", the nostalgic and highly critical of TV "Ginger and Fred", the delightfully autobiographical "Intervista" or even the "lunatic" and "moonstruck" "La voice Della Luna". "La cittá Dell Donne"has few assets to remember: Mastroianni, of course, and some brilliant scenes where the world of Snaporaz's erotics fantasies is brought back as a sort of entertainment show. But the script is faulty, there is no "reality check" to confront such unbridled fancy, where everything is possible. Of course, Fellini is a master, and "La cittá Dell Donne" is still the work of a master, who revisits one of his obsessions: women and sex and eroticism. But the same subject has been (much better) treated in "La Dulce vita", "Otto e mezzo", "Roma", "Amarcord", "Intervista" and even in "La Voce Della Luna".
Marcin Kukuczka
Although I have recently watched some of Fellini's most famous films, after seeing this one, I drew a conclusion that CITY OF WOMEN can hardly be compared to any other movie from the Italian director. Since hardly any of Fellini's works leads us so intensely into the director's surreal world, into a tunnel of his erotic fantasies and lustful desires. At hardly any other moment, Fellini appeared to create such a satire on society, on decadence, on contradictions as well as on the established order like "the institution of the family." Moreover, Fellini seldom got as erotic as here, and strangely as critical of women. Yet, despite all the diverse characteristics of the movie, can CITY OF WOMEN be called a valuable work? Most importantly, it is necessary to say that if you feel ready to see it, please keep in mind one fact: CITY OF WOMEN is not for everyone. Because of its ambiguous nature, this film is for the minority of movie buffs and, moreover, it does not appeal to all Fellini buffs. On the one hand, the movie is a witty, hilarious satire with moments that make you split your sides. On the other hand, it is a sort of "clothed pornography" or "pornography with hardly any nakedness". Everything appears to be around sex and lust executed in more or less "tasteful" excesses. Let me analyze that in more details.Humans (both men and women) are reduced to the carnal aspect of existence. Feminists want to create a world without male dominance, detest penetration and highly criticize "fellocracy". Marijuana-induced generation of teenage girls aim at good fun and fast driving in trance. But not all characters are female characters since, according to an alleged proverb "these are men whose minds are absorbed by sex." There are two men in CITY OF WOMEN: the main character Snaporaz (Marcello Mastroianni) and his opposite counterpart Katzone (Ettore Manni). The former one is rather decent, still "normal" and "appropriate" male who searches the ideal woman. His "city of women" is idealistic and exists in his inner self, in his mind the climax of which is the ideal woman. The latter one is a true "conqueror", a male with excesses, with a number of women he has conquered by flesh. His "city of women" is more materialistic. It appears to be his villa of vibration, of fantasy, of decadence which is, at the same time, a tribute to lust and his marvelous vitality. He calls himself "Sanctus Crosfallus." Therefore, CITY OF WOMEN does not have much to do with LA STRADA where Fellini showed us a moving story, 8 1/2 or GIULIETTA DEGLI SPIRITI where he supplied us with an insight into a psyche, a person's struggles, fears and memories or even with LA DOLCE VITA where Fellini, despite all this immorality of sweet life, drew our attention to contradictory freshness. Here, there isn't much to say about the content and character development except for one thing: what their sexual life is...However, that superiority of depravity in CITY OF WOMEN does not mean that there are no similarities with other Fellini movies. After all, it is still Fellini in CITY OF WOMEN. The similarity has to do with three aspects: characters, Felliniesque nature combined with symbols and the unpredictable content.There are characters that resemble the ones from Fellini's earlier films. It is, first of all, Snaporaz who, like Guido in 8 1/2 (in both Marcello Mastroianni) copes with the madness of the world that surrounds him and tries to figure out his inner self. Katzone, though a male character, reminds me of Suzy in GIULIETTA DEGLI SPIRITI (memorably portrayed by Sandra Milo) with the weirdest ideas filled with erotic fantasies. Elena, Snaporaz' wife/mistress through her words "I am neither your nanny nor your mum" reminds me of Emma in LA DOLCE VITA who wanted to be a mother and a whore. The feminists remind me of the group of people visiting Giulietta and girls driving cars in trance of Marcello's friends in LA DOLCE VITA.Felliniesque nature of the movie is resembled in a reality blended with a fantasy. All occurs to be a dream, yet it is so powerful to feel this. Memories come at any moment and affect our subconscious sphere. This has to do with symbols. Police appears to represent the established order which is contrasted with Katzone, his house, his party as a symbol of sexual anarchy. A ladder that Snaporaz climbs symbolizes effort to achieve, effort to climb the bounds of reality. Storm appears to me as unstable desires and temporal nature of lust. Finally, train occurs to be a monotonous journey of life.Unpredictable action is revealed particularly at the end but also throughout the movie where we do not know constantly what is ahead of us, like it is the case with the future. That is something Fellini could do very well and he does not reject it in CITY OF WOMEN.Yet, at the end of my comment, let me come back to the question I asked at the beginning: is CITY OF WOMEN a valuable film, something you watch and are bound to remember? Unfortunately, I don't think so. It is rather a harmful and confusing movie which does not have much to offer, something even Fellini buffs criticize. If you overdo with something, you are bound to fail. And that is what defines the director's fault in this case. CITY OF WOMEN overdoes with the alleged belief that humans are only carnal creatures. Fellini shouldn't have skipped the spiritual sphere of mankind. Yes, CITY OF WOMEN indeed leads us into the tunnel of lustful fantasies. But tunnel is darkness and art is not there to lead us to darkness but rather out of it, to the spiritual horizons of light and beauty. Unfortunately, Fellini in his later years, totally forgot about that significant truth. 4/10
