This flourish fits the content perfectly here, as “La Dolce Vita” is about the search for authenticity in an artificial world, our jaded society reporter Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) wallowing with the rich and beautiful in this “sweet life” of never-ending parties and decadent dead ends. Federico Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece “La Dolce Vita” is the pivot point between his gritty, early neorealist efforts like “I Vitelloni” and “La Strada” and later, phantasmagoric carnivals such as “8½” and “Amarcord.” The film is set in actual Rome locations but was shot upon the soundstages of Italy’s Cinecittà Studios, lending a slight shimmer of artifice to the proceedings that would become more exaggerated in the filmmaker’s work as years went on.
