maike

Tonight I went to a temple, a god spoke to me, and I was spellbound. I left the cinema, got into my car, and drove as fast as I could on the most dangerous road in the city. The film is over 40 years old, but for me it is as vibrant and topical as any art created today. It draws the mind to an edge, either the parapet of a tall building or a rocky ledge on a windy cliff, and as I look at the beckoning vista and the dark void below, I am so energized and aware of the world that I am giddy with pleasure. This film captures every facet of human emptiness in its darkest most complex form, and simply thrashes its way through the paper mores of society.

The first time I saw this film, it seems a lifetime ago, it was absolutely painful. It was one of several works that I studied, along with Godard and Bergman and Bunuel, that ultimately broke me. I quit every cinematography class, left the university, and wandered for years on the realization that it was pointless to dream of creativity when others have already woven the cloth.

Today the feelings were so different. Watching this film again happily affirmed both my decision years ago and my creative bond with this dusty corner of modern cinema: Federico Fellini's La Dolce vita.. It is a sweet life.