Cinemas Greatest Scenes: “Because he doesn’t know how to love.” – Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 (1963).

The spellbinding Italian actress Claudia Cardinale of The Leopard, 8 1/2 and Once Upon a Time in the West, and later Unesco ambassador for women’s rights, passed away this year in late September, aged 87. On a personal note, her death had come as a surprise to me. I was on vacation in London and Paris, and without my trusty laptop, I decided to bide my time and write a short tribute to her when I returned home. Since then, dozens of obituaries online have recalled her story. I didn’t want to go down that same path and instead have decided to feature one of her most unforgettable scenes. For the record, Cardinale is one of my favourite international actresses of all time. I compiled a top ten list of her essential films HERE.   

“For me, cinema is a dream,” she once said. “The most beautiful thing. I don’t like to see banality in films. I want to see something that makes you think and dream.”

This statement is true of most of her films, and amid a number of astonishing performances, Cardinale is especially unforgettable in Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2. On-screen for considerably less time than the film’s protagonist played by Marcello Mastroianni, it is still enough to have her fans in a spin over her sexy effervescence. In fact, Fellini cast Cardinale because he thought of her as his muse. She gave him inspiration. In short, Cardinale elegantly plays a version of herself – as an ideal women chased by Marcello Mastroianni’s onscreen character Guido, a Fellini-esque film director, whose suffering from a creative crisis and difficulties of film-making. But more than that Mastroianni’s Guido is a man seeking greater fulfilment in life and love.

It is his inability to maintain healthy relationships, particularly the disintegration of his marriage, which sees Guido find a strange solace in a series of dreams, fantasies and memories. In these ‘dreams’ we discover further what kind of man Guido really is. In the many dream sequences of 8 1/2, the only muse Guido truly shows any respect for is Claudia. Some argue she represents the purity, spontaneity and virtue he seeks. In a sequence that arises near the end of the film, the real Claudia the actress (though this distinction is somewhat deliberately blurred by Fellini) offers the tormented protagonist some much needed clarity. For Guido, his final encounter with Claudia becomes both a moment of truth and rebirth. Here he finally abandons his new film project and accepts his own imperfections as a man.

The extended scene in question begins in earnest in the theatre where casting is being carried out for Guido’s new film. Elegantly styled in a black feathered Hollywood-esque dress, Claudia enters the inner sanctum of Guido’s world. Her entrance is breathtaking and it doesn’t escape Guido. Following some formal pleasantries, Guido and Claudia escape by heading outside. In a short exchange Claudia asks, “When do we start shooting?” 

Guido replies, “Soon, very soon.”

“And what’s my part?” Claudia inquiries further. 

“I’ll tell you everything later,” Guido adds.

The scene moves quietly to the interior of a car. Claudia in the driver’s seat and Guido next to her. As they drive away from the theatre, Guido looks at Claudia in awe. She is everything he thought she would be and more. The silence is punctuated with adulation as Guido compliments Claudia on her beauty and ask her who she loves and who she cares for. She laughs and smiles, “You.”

Guido adds, “You arrived just in time, you know. Why do you smile that way? I never know if you’re judging me, absolving me, mocking me.”

Claudia looks a little bemused but reassures Guido. “I’m listening. You said you wanted to tell me about the film.” 

The conversation shifts from flirtation to contemplation with a close-up shot of Guido as he searches for his next words, “Could you leave everything behind and start life over again? Pick one thing and one only and be absolutely devoted to it? Make it the reason for your existence, the thing that contains everything, that becomes everthing, because your dedication to it makes it last forever? Could you? All right, listen. If I were to say, Claudia…”

Claudia interrupts Guido, “Where are we going? I don’t know the way…. And what about you? Could you?”

Guido attempts to answer the question but avoids directly talking about himself. His character becomes a stand-in for his confession. “No… no this guy here, he couldn’t. He wants to grab everything, can’t give up a single thing. He changes his mind every day because he’s afraid he might miss thevright path. And he’s slowly bleeding to death.”

“And that’s how the movie ends?” Claudia asks.

“No, this is how it starts. Then one day he meets the girl from the spring. She’s one of those girls that distributes the healing water. She’s beautiful, young and ancient, a child and a woman already, authentic and radiant. There is no doubt that she’s his salvation”

Soon after Guido and Claudia arrive at their destination, an abandoned small village where Claudia begins to imagine her role in the film. (In a short dream sequence Claudia watches herself walk to a banquet table in the middle of the road.) As she gets out of the car she confesses, “It doesn’t feel right. I didn’t get much from your story. A guy like your character, who doesn’t love anybody, is not very sympathetic you know. It’s his fault. What does he expect.” 

Guido tries to defend him, “You think I don’t know that? You’re a bit of a bore too.”

Claudia laughs out loud how easily Guido is offended. “You really can’t take the least bit of criticism. You are so funny with that big hat, made up like an old man. I don’t understand. He meets a girl that can give him a new life and he pushes her away?”

“Because he no longer believe it,” Guido says in response. 

But Claudia knows the real reason why, “Because he doesn’t know how to love.”

Searching for a rebuttal Guido says, “Because it’s not true that a woman can change a man.”

Again Claudia dismisses Guido, “Because he doesn’t know how to love.”

“And because above all I don’t feel like telling another pile of lies,” Guido states hoping that is the end of it.

But Claudia just smiles knowing the truth hurts. She once again declares, “Because he doesn’t know how to love.”

Finally Guido admits defeat. “I’m sorry Claudia for making you come all the way here.”

“What a cheater you are! So there isn’t this part in the movie?”

“You’re right, you know? There is no part. And there’s no film,” Guido confesses. “There’s nothing anywhere. If it were up to me we would call it all off now.”

This scene is one of the reasons why Fellini’s 8 1/2 is so great. Its composition, lighting and camerawork combine effortlessly to create a surreal mood. It especially heightens the importance of Guido and Claudia’s encounter. Mastroianni as Guido cleverly anchors the scene, allowing Cardinale to steal the show. It’s a masterclass from the Italian in arguably his greatest performance. I also especially like the close-ups of Claudia’s youthful face and smile – not only in the car but on the steps in front of the doorway. She effortlessly brings a wonderful blend of beauty and credibility to her performance. On the surface the scene might seem concerned only with Guido’s attempt to make sense of his disjointed ideas, but ultimately it offers a stark, honest assessment of Guido’s shortcomings. His inability to love is presented as the key reason behind his creative block and personal growth. Watch the scene with that perspective in mind. The clip below picks up from when Guido begins to speculate about life. (Select English subtitles in settings.)