VOICE OF THE MOON, THE
[LA VOCE DELLA LUNA]
The final feature by Federico Fellini, concluding a career that stretched over 50 years, 1990's THE VOICE OF THE MOON combines the nostalgia of AMARCORD (the film is set in the Emilia-Romagna countryside of the director's youth), the surreal satire of CITY OF WOMEN and the naïf-adrift-in-a-brutal-world structure of LA STRADA. Adapted from a novel by Ermanno Cavazzoni, THE VOICE OF THE MOON concerns itself with Ivo Salvini (Italian comedian Roberto Benigni), recently released from a mental hospital and in love with Aldini (Nadia Ottaviani). As he attempts to win her heart, he wanders a strange, dreamlike landscape and encounters various oddball characters including Gonnella (Paolo Villaggio), a paranoid old man prone to conspiracy theories. Upon its original release, the film emerged without fanfare: it played the Cannes Film Festival out of competition after its Italian premiere and failed to secure distribution in North America and the UK. This new restoration from the original negative seeks to right that wrong and provide the film with a second chance. (Note courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive.) DIR/SCR Federico Fellini; SCR Tullio Pinelli, from the novel by Ermanno Cavazzoni; PROD Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori. Italy/France, 1990, color, 126 min. In Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 126 Minutes
Opening Date: Friday, April 21, 2023
Genre: Comedy-drama
