City of Women

City of Women is exactly the kind of movie that cannot be reviewed in one sentence, and it is possible to accept any rating according to the viewer's nature and current mood. A grotesque whim about the flirtation of an aging seducer with an unknown woman from a train turns into a typically Felliniesque journey of the main character confronted with self-confident men contemptuous of women. This colorful spectacle that contains several decadent elements and extravagant scenes, where the viewer does not know until the very end where reality ends and hallucination or dream begins, is the director's sarcastic account of the modern feminist movement. For myself, I can say that, for example, I was very entertained by the manneristic Satyricon, and I consider this one of Fellini's best films, although in the second half, the film unnecessarily drags on and some images are burdened by the author's self-centeredness. Overall impression: 85%. Even though some viewers may criticize the film for its lack of plot and excessive abstraction or exaggeration, it is in any case a great piece of filmmaking that has influenced modern cinema. (15/10/2008)