Juliet of the Spirits

If I could eat any film, it would be this one.

Fellini is a shoe-in for this acid trip counterculturism. It's sort of Dickensian as informed by LSD, an outsider's self-examination spurred by a cavalcade of memories, illusions, and flamboyant characterizations. The surreal flourishes, especially in the last act, are among the most striking images Fellini ever conjured.

Highly imaginative expression of the conflict between consciousness and unconsciousness (that is, between super-ego of guilt and sexual instincts) manifesting itself in mystical rituals and phantasms, and of how the conflict gets resolved in "communication with the past".

WHY NOT EXPERIMENT WITH DRUGS?

I found myself extremely stuck with this picture. A lot of the imagery, and plot lines really confused me, to the point where sometimes, I had no idea what was happening, but at the same time, I was glued to the screen. It was extremely hard for me to turn away. Juliet of the Spirits explores so much, by thoughts, by words, by images, and though I didn't and don't understand everything, I felt extremely appreciative to Fellini for making such a work of art. Brilliant.

"Midway upon the journey of our life/I found myself within a forest dark/For the straightforward pathway had been lost." In a world of endless chatter, wakeup and leave them all behind.

Love Masina so much (CABIRIA 4 EVA) so I was disappointed she got lost in the shuffle. Still, what a remarkable shuffle.

A film (and its viewer) consumed by the subconscious! Fellini's use of color will make your eyes pop out.

This is Fellini at his quirkiest, most whimsical and colorful. The plot is simply far inferior to that in films like La Strada or Nights of Cabiria, but there is a lot to adore about the arresting, ingenious visuals, Nino Rota's penetrating musical score, and the sensuous, playful mood that results.

There's a lot to love: the Rota score, the eye-popping Technicolor cinematography, the amusing flights of fancy, the endless array of unique, unforgettable visuals. Several times I found myself gasping in awe or delight at what I was witnessing. However, Masina's performance often gets overwhelmed by the carnival-like festivities. I found it much harder to care for Juliet like I do for Cabiria. And the minor characters do so much theatrical mugging for the camera. It occasionally gets tiresome.

Often visually striking, but so is wallpaper. I want a plot I can follow, characters whose motivations and actions make sense, and so forth. (Yes, I'm that bourgeois). Would have been nice to have more spirits: she saw a few things, mostly people from her past, but whoop-de-dee. But it wasn't one of those "woman descends into madness" movies. I didn't get the point of it. Compare to La Dolce Vita or 8 1/2, this was disappointing.

I'm not a Fellini fan (based on his reputation I've accepted that it's a me problem, not a him problem), so take this with a grain of salt, but this was yet another film by him that didn't work for me. I found it a lot less annoying than some of his other more out there films, and there were more aspects I liked, led by an outstanding performance by Masina. It's out there Fellini, so the sets and costumes, etc, are all first rate and it's technically impeccable (the colors jump off the screen).

Imagine being a sounding board for Fellini: "I have this idea for a film: It's about a woman who discovers her husband is having an affair. Oh, and it has elephants." The color pops, the Rota score rocks, and I could probably watch Giulietta simply sit and smile for a hour or two, but I hate the feeling of knowing less at the end of the movie than I did at the beginning. Arguably it has one of the best adult treehouses in cinema, though.

It's the humanity of Masina's character plus her acting that gives this extravaganza nonsense a emotional grounding. Think it rightfully can be seen as the female counterpart of 8 1/2 in that regard. Great score by Rota and fabulous colorful cinematography.

Giulietta Masina is a treasure to behold. This is a unique movie.

Fellini'nin atmosfer yaratmaktaki ustalığı, Giulietta'nın inanılmaz oyunculuğu... Her şeyiyle muhteşem film!

I have the feeling that this film (as with Fellini's 8½) would work for me in a different state of mind which I still suspect will never occur. There's something I'm clearly not enjoying that's a crucial part of the intrigue Fellini intends to generate.

I'm not usually a fan of style over content but wow! A fantastically beautiful (and a little bit scary) film. And now I understand all perfume adverts.

This must be the ultimate Fellini - every scene is pure circus! Makes great use of the medium, even if it is maybe a tad too long.

I don't love most Fellini but this is so good. In ways a crazier version of somethin like Midsommar

Visually stunning and arguably Fellinis best film.

Áries

I love the visual variety on display here, as it communicates something of the vibrancy of Juliet's conscious (and subconscious) world. But it is Masina's performance that is most affecting for me--as she quietly parades through the circus around her, we slowly come to appreciate the web of emotions that have crashed upon her in the wake of her discovering her husband's adultery. Such a portrait of a grieving, guilt-ridden, searching woman is still all too rare in cinema.

It's a shame that Fellini is often thrown in the arthouse basket because he was one of the most flat out entertaining directors of his generation. J.O.T.S marks the beginning of his 'cartoon spectacle' period, but it's a delightfully surrealist comedy with many original set pieces bolstered by Rota's whimsical score. The colors pop off the screen, but it's an overlong film with obvious symbolism whose flights of fancy are curiously constrained by its rather mundane subject matter.

Still haven't found a Fellini film I liked.

Apparently there are idiots out there that do not like Fellini. They're missing out on some of the most stunning and moving films ever produced. Juliet of the Spirits is clearly full of beautiful moments and gorgeous visuals, but it's a mood piece, so the best way to enjoy it is to simply let Fellini's mysticism wash over you, to lose yourself in these sounds and images.

Depois de saber que Fellini teve um affair com Germaine Greer e ao mesmo tempo ter abordado a falocentria em diversos de seus filmes, eis que ele faz essa declaração de liberdade à Giulietta Massina na forma de uma odisséia feminista, onde ele encoraja as donas de casa italianas a recuperarem a a autonomia de suas vidas se afastando dos maridos machistas e das religiões repressoras... Coisa linda.

For all of the phantasmagoria of vibrant colours, hallucinogenic imagery and layers of symbolism, what really makes this film great is the delicacy of its emotions. From a certain perspective, its "bourgeois" theme might seem a little dated, but perhaps the same could be said for the perspective from which this would appear to be the case.

#533

Very good, but I liked this much less than other Fellini movies. It was difficult to connect or empathize with the main character, when you're not sure what's reality. Some wonderful scenes, though, and beautifully shot.

Beautiful and interesting to look at. But nothing really happens and besides the imagery it's not impressive to me at all. Masina doesn't fit the character here.

I don't much care about the stuff Fellini cares about, nor does Masina do anything for me, but it is a rather pretty film and some of the comedy worked for me.

After the brilliance of 8 1/2, this followed as crushing proof that Fellini was fallible, and possibly full of horseshit. Beautiful horseshit, to be sure --a kaleidoscope of colors and silky camera movements make it go down smoothly when you're looking at howling and leering freaks prancing around in someone's head.

a confusing, but brilliant movie. the surrealist imagery is done to an extreme, but it doesn't have the pitfall of most like it's kind--it remains coherent and entertaining. generally well acted, and fellini always did know his way around a video camera.

630

I couldn't look away, the thought never even entered my mind for its entirety. Here we have some of the simplest material for this director, but he does it in the most multifaceted (and, of course, extravagant) manner imaginable.

One of the few Fellini films that I like

this movie's got me grinning all along its exhibition. it makes you fall in love with cinema, if you haven't fell before. masterpiece.

574

Not Fellini's best but I found it strangely appealing.

# 726

I do not really like Giulietta. In La Strada she was magnificent though.