Amarcord is a semi-autobiographical film produced by Federico Fellini about Titta, a teenage boy growing up amid an eclectic cast of people in the town of Borgo San Giuliano (near the historic walls of Rimini) in 1930s Fascist Italy.
The title of the film is a transliteration of the Romagnol word a m’arcôrd (“I remember”). The title was later transformed into an Italian neologism, with the meaning “nostalgic revocation.” Titta, the title character, is based on Fellini’s boyhood buddy from Rimini, Luigi Titta Benzi. Benzi went on to become a lawyer and stayed close to Fellini throughout his life. Titta’s emotional education typifies Italy’s “loss of conscience.” Fellini mocks himself and his fellow peasants in hilarious scenes that highlight their inability to acquire actual moral responsibility or outgrow silly sexual obsessions, as well as Mussolini’s absurd posturings and those of a Catholic Church that “imprisoned Italians in a continuous childhood.” The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for two more: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Amarcord Images
