The Federico Fellini movie Ali Abbasi called “the reason I am here”
A distinctive visual prowess and talent for telling unique narratives has made the Iranian-born Swedish director Ali Abbasi one of the most respected contemporary filmmakers. After making waves with his breakout movie Border, released in 2018, Abbasi has drawn acclaim from all corners of the globe for his treatment of identity within his work.
Abbasi tends to mix contemporary issues with a sense of the mythological and the folkloric, much in the same way that Guillermo del Toro is wont to do. Following Border with Holy Spider, the filmmaker has continued to craft his vision of cinema as he sees fit and seems to allure audiences to the screen to witness his remarkable stories.
While Abbasi is indeed one of the most acclaimed new filmmakers of recent times, he is also something of a cinephile, and when he was asked by Criterion to name his ten favourite movies of all time, the selection was littered with quality. During the process, Abbasi was sure to express his love for one of his favourite filmmakers of all time, Federico Fellini, and his 1954 masterpiece drama La Strada.
“I don’t want to say much about La Strada other than that it’s the reason why I am here,” Abbasi said. “When you watch this movie, no matter who you are, you get the sense that this is something special that couldn’t have been made for television or heard as a radio play. It’s not Alain Resnais; it’s very accessible, and yet it has cinematic purity.”
There’s a sense of neorealism in Fellini’s classic movie, which tells a beautifully moving story about the human experience. It focuses on a simple-minded woman by the name of Gelsomino and a strongman called Zampano, and they make their way through post-war Italy in some of the most gorgeous black-and-white cinematography the medium has ever seen.
The natures of loneliness and innocence are given careful attention whilst the characters search for the meaning of life. A majestically tender core by Nino Rota helps to craft a poignant film that considers just what it is to be human, and alongside his 1963 movie 8 ½, La Strada is rightfully considered one of Fellini’s best-ever efforts.
Abbasi continued, noting the importance of Fellini’s classic, “This is a mark of how depressing the movie business has gotten—we don’t make these kinds of movies anymore, movies where there’s just a natural consensus that they’re good. Where you don’t have to wait for critics to say so because everybody can feel it.”
Check out the trailer for La Strada below.
