Things to Watch For in La Dolce Vita

The following are some things to watch for as you view La Dolce Vita a second time:

• Note the irony in the film's title.
  
  
• Note how the film is divided into 7 episodes and how the action typically occurs in the wee hours of the morning.  Is there any significance to this? 
  
  
• Note the famous Trevi fountain scene. What is its significance?
  
  
• Note the religious imagery throughout the film.  
  
  
• Note the theme of the sacred and the profane. How is that illustrated in the famous opening scene with the statue of Jesus being towed by helicopter?
  
  
• Note the movie posters on the wall where Marcello and his date pick up the prostitute.
  
  
• What does Steiner represent to Marcello? Note the framing of the scene with Marcello, Steiner, and the cross. Note the contrast between Marcello's work and Steiner's? Why does Steiner become a family annihilator?
  
  
• Note Marcello's relationship with his father.  Note the statue of the female body that is present behind Marcello's father while they're in the cabaret. It is featured around him and behind him in every shot. Why do you think this is?
  
  
• How does Fellini portray the paparazzi? What is Marcello's relationship with his co-workers?
  
  
• Note the contrast between Marcello's crush the movie star Sylvia and Marcello's fiance Emma.
  
  
• What statement is Fellini making with the scene of the children and their "miracle"?
  
  
• What is the significance of the leviathan, the stingray-like creature that is washed up on the beach?
  
  
• What is the significance of the young waitress Paola? Note the lighting in the scenes with her. What does it mean when Marcello cannot hear her at the end of the film?
  
  
• Trivia: The film contributed the term "paparazzo" to the language. The term derives from Marcello's photographer friend Paparazzo. Federico Fellini took the name "Paparazzo", as he explained in a later interview, from the name of someone he met in Calabria (Southern Italy) where Greek names are still common. "Paparazzi" is the plural meaning. 
  
  
• More Trivia: When shooting the famous Fontana di Trevi scene, director Federico Fellini complained that the water in the fountain looked dirty. A representative of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) present at the shooting was able to supply the film team with some of the airline's green sea dye marker (for use in case of an emergency landing at sea). This was used to color the water, and the director was satisfied.