8 1/2 is the story of a film director experiencing creative blockage until he decides to make an autobiographical film. The film he chooses to make is a surrealistic collage of personal history, Italian popular culture, and esoteric/metaphysical, and religious references.
The protagonist Guido is a serial adulterer. He is physically, psychologically and emotionally exhausted. He is experiencing mid-life regret, but his imagination, and his sub-conscious are fierce. They keep serving up memories, and concepts for future creation.
I watched this film with a strong desire to root Guido on. The artist in me wished him to succeed. His unfaithfulness to his wife caused my friends, and I to have a philosophical conversation about long term committed relationships/marriage. Is it ever acceptable to cheat? Do artists deserve a special dispensation from monogamy? What would we allow our partners, or demand for ourselves?
The life of the imagination grants us so much freedom. Is there a correlate responsibility that accompanies this freedom? Or does the imagination grant us exemption? Does this exemption only exist if all sins are committed imaginarily? In a conversation that Guido has with a Cardinal
he is told that we live in the city of god, or of the devil. In which city does the imagination reside?
No comments:
Post a Comment