A series of comic vignettes on life under fascism in a small Italian villa in the 1930s. Among the best include a party parade gone awry, hi-jinx among the local hooligans at school, a mentally disturbed man who refuses to come down from a tree, and an unforgettably filmed convoy of villagers rowing out to catch the massive American bound liner and wish its passengers bon voyage. Federico Fellini's postcard to his youth and hometown is funny, nostalgic, extremely ribald, expertly crafted, and deliberately incohesive.
*** 1/2 out of ****
