 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Amarcord
- Review Date: November 28, 2005
- R
- Genre: Fantasy
- 1973
Common Sense Media says
Surreal history lesson not for most teens.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is a surreal film where adults often act like children and vice versa, so there are no discernible characters to uphold regular roles of authority. The only influence given respect is Mussolini's regime. Gunshots, clownish street peddlers, prostitutes, and dysfunctional families are the norm. A teacher smokes pot in front of his students, kids smoke in the bathroom; patrons drink cocktails at a soiree. Kids are given adult motives and desires: a jealous toddler tries to get rid of his newborn brother by dropping a rock onto him while he sleeps in his crib; a pleasure-seeking woman bares her breasts to seduce an ingénue, then promptly abandons him after the deed is done; a young boy suffers the loss of his mother.
What's the story?
It's 1930's Fascist Italy, and life in the small town of Rimini has turned into a bona fide circus. Titta Biondi (Bruno Zanin), like most adolescents, wants to become a man -- to be respected, admired, and appreciated, to have the freedom to come and go as he pleases, and the charm to get the girl of his dreams. AMARCORD is the story of Titta's journey from prank-playing boyhood through wizened adolescence in this surreal take on coming-of age. Likely inspired by moments from Fellini's boyhood memoirs, the film is a series of unrelated vignettes, loosely connected by a rotating cast of characters.
Is it any good?
Director/screenwriter Federico Fellini was always a master at the art of making caricatures out of people (he was a cartoonist in the early days). Here, he uses his standard cast of clowns, mimes, prostitutes, thugs, disillusioned professors and street peddlers to deliver monologues, diatribes, even newsreel quotes, throughout a fantastic, imaginary Italy. His characters, flickering like flames, pop up in the corner of the eye, and then disappear again within a blink. They address the audience directly, salivating, strutting like peacocks, commanding attention. There is a lot of visual hocus pocus, but what this circus needs is a stronger ringleader; it's the narrative equivalent of skipping back and forth between random entries from a diary: at times beautiful, but also potentially dull.
Kids will probably want to skip this one; clocking in at a turtle's pace of 127 minutes, most children will find the socio-political monologues, academic literary references, and disconnected narrative aimless and hard to sit through, if not completely tedious.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about Italian history in the 1930s, the definition of fascism, and the role of government in every day life. How does Mussolini's fascist regime differ from a democracy like that of the U.S.? Families may want to use this opportunity to discuss how the film comments on adolescence and the need for quality role models.
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| Studio: | F.C. Produzioni |
| Director: | Federico Fellini |
| Cast: | Armando Brancia, Magali Noel, Pupella Maggio |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Run time: | 127 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | December 18, 1973 |
| DVD release date: | April 18, 1998 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | sdf |
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