I Vitelloni Directed by Federico Fellini. Italy 1953. 109 min. Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi With his third film, 33-year old Fellini made his name and found his voice: evolving from Italian Neo-Realism into a freer, more poetic and episodic style.The narrative is sprinkled with many of his recurrent motifs: variété and carneval; storms and windswept beaches, the Catholic Church; the happy fool and the wise child – all bound with intregral musicality, the second of many collaborations with the composer Nino Rota. Fellini's life flowed freely into his works; more than half were autobiographical, pursuits of memory in quest of identity, meaning and direction. Although filmed itinerantly in other locations, I Vitelloni plays in a sleepy seaside town distinctly like his native Rimini. Five mates while away their days, bored with acting forever young, yet reluctant to become like their parents. With gentle irony, an unseen narrator presents them typologically. ʺThe youngestʺ is Moraldo (Interlenghi), the cineaste’s alter ego. Like the town, the characters were so recognisable that local families took offence; but the mood, chemistry, predicaments are transferable. The film has been cited as inspiration for Scorsese’s Mean Streets, Lucas’ American Graffiti (both 1973), and many more. Stanley Kubrick said I Vitelloni was his favourite film. ʺIt shows all of Fellini's unrivaled virtues -- his lyrical sense of place, his abiding affection for even the most hapless of his characters, his effortless knack for limpid, bustling composition -- and very few of his putative vices.ʺ A.O. Scott, New York Times Oscar nominee: Best Screenplay; Venice Film Festival award: Silver Lion ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do join us from 9:45 pm on Tuesday 9 June for a post-film discussion: - on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WimbledonFilmClub/ (write & read comments under the new post pinned at the top of the page) - our Google Group Forum at https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!forum/wimbledon-film-club (please email in advance if you are not yet a member of the forum and would like to join) or email your comments to: [email protected] .