Travelogue, memoir, and outrageous cinematic spectacle converge in this kaleidoscopic valentine to the Eternal City, composed by one of its most iconic inhabitants. Leisurely one moment and breathless the next, this urban fantasia interweaves recollections of the director’s young adulthood in the era of Mussolini with an impressionistic portrait of contemporary Rome.
Remarkable images of sex, food and nightlife affirm Fellini’s aphorism that Rome is “the most wonderful movie set in the world.” Here, through a series of vignettes brimming with satire and spark, the filmmaker penetrates the myth and mystique of Italy’s capital city.