La Grande Bellezza (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013)

Sorrentino's meander through the life of an ageing Roman socialite, a flâneur with an arch wit drifting through the nightlife of the rich, wears its debt to La Dolce Vita explicitly, even though many other sources are also referenced. But it is the Fellini which looms the largest over The Great Beauty, not just for the character being a becalmed and wistful version of Mastroianni's lothario, but for the fantastical air pervading the endless parties and the social subtext of the vacuity underlying the hedonism. It looks stunning and the heady musical pieces sweep you off your feet repeatedly. Rome appears empty outside the high-society circuit, as if it's just a playground for them. Perhaps in the end it doesn't quite manage to escape the glitz to deliver its existential message, but the style and vitality is undeniable.

8/10