Amarcord (1974)
Amarcord sure is a fun ride! There is no main character (so to speak), there is no overarching plot; it is simply a window to the village of Borgo San Giuliano, in pre-WWII Italy, that stays open for a year, from spring to spring. We get to spend two hours simply watching its picturesque inhabitants interact with each other, and, if that sounds dull, then you probably have never watched a movie by Federico Fellini ... As I usually do, I had no idea what to expect when I set myself to watch Amarcord: I had never read anything about the movie or seen any stills from it, so as to free myself from any bias or preconceived ideas. What I found was one of the most enjoyable movies I have ever watched! Everything feels so natural, so effortless, that most of the time it seems the actors are just improvising their lines. The sad thing is, the Blu-ray version available in Japan has no extras whatsoever... I would have loved to watch any behind-the-scenes footage, to confirm (or refute...