BECOMING ANITA EKBERG

Mastroianni and Ekberg in La dolce vita and 27 years later, both still sexy

BECOMING ANITA EKBERG
 (2014  documentary). Director: Mark Rappaport.

While I always strive to review a book or movie for what it is as opposed to what it isn't, sometimes you're not given much of a choice. If you tune in to a (very short) documentary entitled Becoming Anita Ekberg, you would think you'd have a right to expect some sort of biographical treatment, and that you might be told, say, what her early life was like; who, if anyone, she might have married; some of her personal thoughts on her films and co-workers; how she got her start in show business; and so on. Alas, Becoming Anita Ekberg is yet another of director Mark Rapport's insufficient "video essays," this time purportedly on Ekberg but more about the nature of stardom and the short shelf life of sex symbols. (Some of this is interesting while much of it is obvious and pretentious.) You won't learn much more than the basics about Ekberg herself: how she played "Anita Ekberg" in the Martin and Lewis comedy Hollywood or Bust (an all too obvious title); reached international stardom as the movie star in Fellini's famous La dolce vita; and wound up playing herself again in Boccaccio '70, this time as a giant-size poster of herself that comes to life. For the record Ekberg was married to actors Rik Van Nutter and Anthony Steel and had sixty-five credits in films, few of which are even mentioned. Her life and career were actually quite interesting, but you will learn much more at imdb.com than you will from this "documentary." Obviously, this is just a collection of clips tied together to illustrate Rappaport's ruminations, with the clips coming first and the ruminations second. There's also a bit of ageism in this as the film tries to make out that Ekberg has become hideous or something because she's older, but she and Mastroianni, although undeniably older, still look quite attractive. One of her later movies was Killer Nun. She was certainly prominent in the poster for Back from Eternity, which gurgled "Ooh That Ekberg!" Rappaport was also responsible for Debra Paget, For Example, which is somewhat better than this.

Verdict: Skip it and watch one of Ekberg's movies instead. *. 

MARCELLO MASTROIANNI: HIS LIFE AND ART

MARCELLO MASTROIANNI: HIS LIFE AND ART. Donald Dewey. Birch Lane/Carol; 1993.

In this absorbing and well-written bio and career study of the actor, there are few first-person interviews, but Dewey makes up for this with an intensive look at Mastroianni's work and its context in the changing political and sexual landscape of Italy. Like many actors, it comes across that there wasn't much to Mastroianni beyond being an actor, but considering his talent and achievements that's more than enough. Mastroianni's often conflicting opinions on movies, the thespian profession, women, co-stars, politics and religion are prodigiously quoted (often too much so), but it is made clear that the actor had little use for the religious dogma of, say, Italian censors. Mastroianni was married to the same woman for many years but had numerous affairs, most famously with Catherine Deneuve. The book also goes into his work and relationships with such famous directors as Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, and Vittorio de Sica, Mastroianni hated being seen as the Latin Lover, but he happened to be quite good-looking and that was that. It's interesting that the actor became internationally famous despite the fact that he only appeared in one full-fledged American production, and -- frustratingly -- most of his films are unseen and unavailable in the U.S. However, his fine work in such films as La dolce vita and Le Notti bianchi are evidenced on DVD. It's strange that the photos of the actor used for the front and back covers are not flattering. Mastroianni died at 72 three years after this book was published.

Verdict: Exhaustive look at a fine Italian actor. ***1/2.

LE NOTTI BIANCHI

Schell and Mastroianni

LE NOTTI BIANCHI (1957). Director: Luchino Visconti.

Mario (Marcello Mastroianni). a lonely man in Livorno, meets Natalia (Maria Schell), who tells him that she is waiting patiently any day now for a lover (Jean Marais of Fantomas) who swore he would return to her in one year. Mario can't believe Natalia can actually think that her lover will come back, and he pursues a romance with her even as she ponders her future with her lover and finds herself drawn to Mario in spite of herself. Mario promises to deliver a letter to the man in question to see if he still feels the same about Natalia, but will he actually follow through?  ... Le notti bianchi is a little gem of a movie, beginning with an exquisite theme by Nino Rota, and taking place on beautifully designed sound stages in Cinecitta. The camera roams all over these impressive sets even as a sad older woman (Clara Calamai of Deep Red), an aging prostitute who has a yen for Mario herself, roams through the city. Despite the fact that Mastroianni is miscast -- his actions and dialogue are those of a younger man, and he is much more sophisticated in appearance than his character -- he is still superb, delineating all of Mario's passion, yearning, and inner torment with great skill. Schell is also quite good, as are Marais and Calamai and the actors who play Natalia's nearly-blind grandmother  (Marcella Rovena) and her tenants. Giuseppe Rotunno's cinematography is marvelous, as is Rota's sensitive scoring. The film, based on a short story by Dostoevsky, has an uncompromising and moving finale. A strange scene has Mario and Natalia encountering an entire family, including a small child, apparently living under a bridge in the middle of winter, but neither of them remark upon it. There is a fairly long sequence in a club with Mario and Natalia joining in when everyone, including a snappy dancer named Dirk Sanders, begins gyrating to Bill Haley and the Comets' "Thirteen Women." This is an abrupt change in tone, but it works. Visconti also directed the notable Bellissima and many others.

Verdict: Exactingly-made, dream-like and hauntingly beautiful. ***1/2.