A Review

I recently had a DVD come in I ordered from Criterion and I just have to talk about it. It's a film from the late 60s called "Fellini Satyricon" and to say it's one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen is putting it lightly. Describing this movie is an almost futile gesture, as I think you should just have to see it for yourself to fully envision what it it is, but I will do my best.

It's a movie that feels like something out of a dream you remember awaking out of but can't recall in its entirety, and looks like a mashup of a Hollywood historical epic, a Roman mythology blockbuster, a Disney musical, and a big-budget exploitation flick. The fragmented storytelling jumps all over the place, but it more or less primarily follows a gay love triangle between 2 friends turned rivals and a young slave during the height of the Roman Empire. Over the course of days, or maybe years (I really cannot tell you for certain) they find themselves in one bizarre and illogical circumstance after the other.

What's most intriguing about this movie is its vision. It paints a portrait of an alternate ancient Rome that's so unlike the noble and sophisticated impressions we get from museums and history textbooks. The Rome of this movie is gross and provocative, and defined by instances of sheer sadism, immorality, excess, and hedonism. It's all very decadent, but in no way is it glamorous.

This is most certainly NOT a movie for everyone. Some people will love it for the same reasons others hate it, and vice versa. But, if an almost constant torrent of feverish imagery, unapologetic eroticism, and bouts of violence aren't enough to scare you, then by all means have at it! I recommend not trying to make sense of it as you watch it, but after you have experienced it in full and welcome whatever conclusion you come to about it as is. If someone thinks they have a better example of "anything can be art," then they haven't seen this movie.