Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ (1963) follows a film director named Guido through the turbulent process of creating a feature film. As Guido is tracked down by his casting director and producer persistently, he must also face toils with Catholicism, his parents, his wife, and his mistress, all the while submerged in nostalgic dream fantasies (8½). The detail that sets 8 ½ apart from his previous work, is that Guido can be seen as Fellini himself, and the film as a whole as semi-autobiographical (8½).
Aside from Fellini’s self-reflective approach to filmmaking, 8½ is an attempt to show the unconscious mind of Guido, with influence stemming from the theories of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (Duoba). After Fellini’s meetings with Jungian analyst Dr. Bernhard, he would, “would write down memories of his dreams as soon as he awoke” (Duoba). The aftermath of Fellini’s newly piqued interest in Jungian theory and the subconscious is one element that would continue to prosper into later works.
As for evolution, 8 ½ can be cited as Fellini’s largest step into new territory, specifically with the inclusion of the dreams and fantasies of Guido throughout the film, “Fellini spoke about dreams, ‘It’s true that talking about dreams is like talking about movies since the cinema uses the language of dreams: Years can pass in a second, and you can hop from one place to another. It’s a language made of images. And in the real cinema, every object and every light means something, as in a dream” (Duoba).
Federico Fellini’s use of himself in his film, along with his extensive set of symbols and dream sequences, brought his film style to a new place, a place in which Fellini would grow and adapt into what is now thought of as a Fellini-esque picture.
