Filmic Techniques in Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2

Marilyn Fabe dissects Federico Fellini’s 1963 film 8 ½ in her book Closely Watched Films, diving into the modernism displayed through his style. Fabe regards his camera movements as flamboyant, his edits as audacious, and his score as self-conscious, referring to the entirety of the film while seemingly ignoring how infrequently she focuses on one particular sequence: the infamous beach-inhabited whore, Saraghina. Each time she is featured, the camera movements seem to be freed, the editing to be bold, and the music to evoke positivity, all in contrast to the presence of the church and its clergy. The nature of Saraghina, free and without order, speaks volumes to the structure of the film which follows a stream of consciousness narration that does not allow for a linear plot sequence. Instead, it holds a double mirror construction that provides self-reflexivity in the film due to the well-known fact that “Fellini suffered a creative block similar to Guido’s when he was in the midst of working on the film that later became 8 ½” (156). To dive even deeper into the set of mirrors, Fabe also mentions that the film that Guido is making in 8 ½ is also called 8 ½. While it is true that throughout Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ the viewer is presented with “flamboyant camera movements, audacious edits, and [a] self-conscious score” (Fabe 153), Fellini also manages to capture these three filmic elements in the back-to-back sequence of Saraghina dancing for the boys and the priests coming to collect Guido from Saraghina.

Fellini cleverly juxtaposes Guido’s experience in the “realm” of Saraghina against his time spent in [church] school by choosing to display each scene with a different type of cinematography. When young Guido is with Saraghina he is free, much like she is, but when he is in the church, or with the priests the camera movements are very conservative and predictable. The shots on the beach are fluid and free to soar as she does. “Everything about her is exposed to the elements — her hair blows wildly, her feet are bare, she bursts out of her dress, and her movements are fluid and uninhibited” (160). Each “flamboyant” camera movement during the beach scene with Saraghina, the camera follows her as if it were dancing with her. It exists as an extra character whose purpose is to portray her in a positive light that is almost angelic due to the low angle chosen. After we see Saraghina lift Guido to dance with him, two priests appear and the camera movements return from flamboyant and lively to static and conventional. There is still an element of humor that stays on the beach when the priests arrive because Guido ends up running full force into one of them, but it is a humor that exists in the content and not the camera movement.

The editing in this sequence plays a big part in determining the psychological impact on Guido by his beach companion opposed to the church and its inhabitants. When Saraghina is dancing, the cuts are fluid like her dance moves, and aim to display her freedom as well as the boys’ control over her. Many of the shots are cut together in a way that illuminates her strength and freedom by providing close-ups that are juxtaposed with long shots of her swaying with the wind. On the other hand, the rest of the shots are extreme close-ups that focus on “the most awesome parts of her anatomy, in imitation of the eyes of the boys” (160) that prove her subjection to the male gaze, even as Guido and his friends are so young. Immediately following her dance, two priests come to collect Guido and they begin a sped-up version of a wild goose chase as the “young sinner” runs away from them. Fellini displays the priest pursuit in a jocular way that emulates slap-stick comedy. However, while their actions are humorous, the frame is very still and the bold edits that the audience is exposed to only moments before is nowhere to be found. In the shot following Guido’s capture by the priests, he is being escorted back to school and the location was changed without warning, then it changes again with a close-up of the kernels in the priest’s hands which acts as a discontinuous transition from the classroom to the school dining room. “Fellini leaves out the shots which would help orient us in screen space for the purpose of giving greater emphasis to the cruelty of Guido’s punishment” (167). Fellini’s editing process ensures the understanding that Saraghina’s beach realm represents a state of freedom and positivity while the church school’s realm represents the opposite: religious confinement and negativity.

Lastly, Fellini’s blurred lines between diegetic and nondiegetic sound sets the stage for determining the symbolism of Saraghina and the clergymen of the church school as they’re reflected upon in the frame of Guido’s psychological health. Fabe claims that even though “[W]e never see the source of the bells that are ringing as Guido is being led to the room with the priests… but since the setting is established as a church school, it is plausible that bells would be ringing”(diegetic) but on the other hand, “we do not expect to see the musicians who play the music as Saraghina dances on the beach” (170). This score is unusual because the line between the two is so blurred, as evident when Saraghina is dancing in rhythm to the music that is non-diegetic, and it is self-conscious because it occurs right alongside the “beat” of the cuts. For instance, when Fellini cuts from a shot of Saraghina holding Guido in the air while they’re dancing, to a shot of the priests chasing after him, “there is a corresponding change on the soundtrack from the main Saraghina theme to the musical bridge. This unconventional score plays along with the rest of the film, and gives the viewer a look into Guido’s psychological issue involving a healthy sexual curiosity versus the Catholic Church.

In the Saraghina sequence, and the church scenes of punishment that immediately follow, Fellini presents us with an unconventional style of cinematography, editing and audio production. He presents Saraghina as a symbol of freedom and the church and its officials as a symbol of conservative confinement. Because Saraghina lives on the beach and is free to roam and dance, Fellini includes fluid camera movements, a bold editing style, and a score that is reflexive while also being correlative with the scene and the cuts from shot to shot. In the church, everyone is confined and expected to behave according to a certain standard of acceptable behavior. This means that the camera moves much more statically, the editing is boring, and the score is harsh and excessive. Through these three filmic elements, with the help of Marilyn Fabe’s analysis, the content receiver is able to appreciate the significance of the juxtaposition provided between the Saraghina sequence and the church scenes that succeed it.