Fellini Satyricon was the first movie I popped in when I received my Essential Fellini box set. I was intrigued by the title; it just jumped at me. And I think this was the only movie I had heard of that I hadn't seen before. I only knew that it was a period piece and that it was a very weird movie. This movie is weird but I'm not sure I'd call it a period piece. I read that it's considered science fiction. And that seems accurate, I guess? I'm still not sure what I watched. The film is jumbled and incoherent, probably intentionally so. The film follows Encolphus (Michael Potter) who has lost his love Giton (Max Born) to Ascyltus (Hiram Keller) and Encolphus' attempts to reclaim Giton. The story beyond that is episodic as Encolphus and Ascyltus find themselves in bizarre lands and among bizarre people. I found the narrative extremely hard to follow, as it is based on Petronius's fragmented incomplete text Satyricon, and Fellini adapts the source material as is. The result is an occasionally engrossing but sometimes alienating odyssey.
What cannot be denied is that Fellini is putting his all onto the screen. The movie looks incredible with surreal set designs, outlandish makeup and hairstyling, and captivating camerawork. The imagination on screen is incredible, and it sets the right tone for this hypnotic and hallucinogenic road trip. The homoerotic gaze with the nubile young men wearing skimpy togas (and I guess thongs?) fits well with the overall theme of decadence and visceral pleasure. The gender fluidity in the movie is interesting as well, but also seems a bit grotesque. But at two hours and ten minutes, the aesthetic of the film can only do so much heavy lifting. I don't need to be spoon-fed meaning for a film, but Fellini Satyricon is almost incomprehensible (however there is some amazing writing on the film which helps to contextualize it). Fellini Satyricon pops off the screen and is a unique experience, but one which left me hanging.
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