i rewatched la grande bellezza and then i watched the interviews with the director, the lead actor and the other screenwriter.
the other screenwriter (an older guy, i forget his name) was the more revealing in the connections with la dolce vita-- he compared it to the odyssey in that it's more than just a story, but a kind of ever-present referent for people who tell a certain kind of story (as the odyssey is to travel).
god damn i haven't gotten this much pleasure from a movie in ages
turns out the director wanted to be a writer. this is an instance in which this works really well. he really knows how to tell a story with lots and lots of nuance. no "goodies vs. baddies" here. not even a hint.
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