Only through real actions can transform the torment we face into our nourishment and others. This is the fundamental spirit of fantasy in the works of Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges.
——Federico Fellini.
Some say that it's impossible to adapt Borges' stories into movies because he needed to gain the talent of a filmmaker like Fellini. So what exactly is this talent? The key to Fellini's film style is improvised dialogue and mime-like performances. Borges' novels and films, both share characters who are talkative and mischievous. The difference is that Borges depicts people struggling with pain, while Fellini shows people suffering, blissfully unaware. What they have in common is the ability to improvise humorous narratives featuring unremarkable characters who spring to life as soon as they appear on screen. This truth carries a serious message: it suggests an ironclad impossibility. After this truth is revealed, all that remains is blind action.
Fellini saw it in Kafka's novels, so the characters in his films are always "doing" things - either talking gibberish or swaying aimlessly. His screen is like a circus. He wants to bring laughter and surprises, not insights that make people suffer and ponder painfully. He mostly uses non-professional actors because they can't meet the requirements.
In "I Am a Liar", Fellini mentioned how he writes his stories: "The story comes out easily, the characters appear spontaneously one by one as if this movie was ready to be discovered."
Fellini's stories also have realistic conflicts, but he always resolves them with random incidents, rather than designing complex narrative networks of suspense, hints, coincidences, behind-the-scene clues, decisive shots, etc. as other playwrights do to complete the task. He sweeps away the confusion and trouble caused by conflicts with these sudden events, like a broom.
In his movies, you can find many similar plots, such as a person in trouble is walking on the street with a frown and a dilemma, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a large group of people appear out of nowhere. They either hold flags and banners or blow trumpets and drums. Or they are bare-handed but full of energy. These people rush over and pull this person to a new place, throwing away all their troubles. Live life like a clown and go on living in funny ways, even though they know "everything we do is wrong," they continue to "move" and continue to move forward.
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The story of Federico Fellini's movie "Nights of Cabiria" is closest to that of Franz Kafka's "The Castle." The prostitute Cabiria wants to find a good man to settle down with, but before she finds the right one, "everything she does is wrong," whether he is naive or sophisticated, trying to show off his intelligence or pretending to be foolish. In the end, she ends up with a tragic outcome, all her actions were wrong. However, in the final moments of the film, she still looks up and smiles at the audience, that scene is touching because it means that Cabiria will never give up on life and she will continue to move forward.
Reason cannot bring happiness; only action can make one feel happy. A clown is always happier and can give more joy to others than a scholar. Federico Fellini's movies are against reasoning. Reason brings hope but also despair.
Federico Fellini's “8½” is a fantasy of Fellini's, but at the same time, it is his summary of his film and life philosophy, as well as a counterattack to the reviewing industry that uses rationalism as its flag. Instead of using stronger rationality to fight back, he uses fantasy. The formation of this movie's story is in Chapter 6 of "I am a Liar" (Fellini: Je suis un grand menteur).
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In this story, the protagonist, the director, is oppressed by the "rational world." His screenwriter blames him for not being able to bring reflection to the script; his producer wants him to remember the business rules between the audience and investment; his wife always asks him to tell the truth; his actors always pester him to discuss how to perform; and some people want to know his thoughts on life, the meaning of filming, and all other messy things.
Everything was causing him so much trouble, but he still insisted on going his own way. However, at this point he still couldn't find out where his troubles were. Only when he finally abandoned the movie halfway through did he finally understand that all he had to do was sincerely love the images that appeared in reality or imagination and not give them false rational images. Letting them take action of their own lives would allow him to be free from both life and art. He could then tell lies without fear, fictionalize in the movies, and turn movies into a celebration of life. Life itself should also be a celebration.
This is Ferrini's perspective on life, as well as his views on cinema. This is also the inspiration from his movies.
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