Just saw I Vitelloni at the San Rafael theatre, an art theatre sponsored by rich Marin folks...it's quite cool actually. The film was one of Fellini's first, a personal film about a group of 6 irresponsible young men, living off their parents, chasing women, boozing, and generally not interested in taking responsibility over their lives. It reminds me of the group I grew up with, many of whom I ran into the other night at a high school reunion type party at a friends house. Afterwards, I stuck around the theatre and watched The Station Agent. What I noticed most was the big difference between I Vitelloni and the Station Agent...the Station Agent was a nice film, I think it won best picture at Canne...but it was too feel-goody and formulaic for me. Granted, the protaganist being a dwarf was new, but beyond that, it was pretty standard fare. Further, I found many of the characters and their behaviour quite unbelievable. One, Patricia Clarkson at the beginning spills the coffee on herself and acts like it burns her for five minutes. Anyone who's spilled coffee knows it burns for a few seconds and then goes away. There are other little details, like why these women practically throw themselves at this dwarf who rarely speaks. I dunno, I wasn't buying it. I still think Micky from Seinfeld is the most genius dwarf character, and the episode about lifts and his insecurity about the kid actor he stands in for, is freaking brilliant.

But the big difference is that I Vitelloni hit me on a personal and emotion level the Station Agent couldn't. I related to these guys, from fifty years ago, in a foreign country, getting bullied by their fathers for not working, borrowing money without hope of paying it back, offering each other stupid bets of how much money it would take to jump in the water. Also painful was the scene in which the "artist/intellectual" of the group finally gets a famous actor to read his play and the actor merely tries to use him for sex. Brutal. The stupid guys chasing tail and money and having seemingly no purpose in life other than the two. Making fun of road workers when they themselves are too lazy and too proud to work in such jobs. Very poignant, and very funny. One can truly see the difference between a Fellini film and whomever made the Station Agent. Something else is going on there, whether it be Fellini or Fellini mixed with the time and structures and people he worked under and with. Who knows. Something more was going on in that film and felt more truthful.