Federico Fellini is often considered a disengaged filmmaker, interested in self-referential dreams and grotesquerie rather than contemporary politics. This book challenges that myth by examining the filmmaker's reception in Italy, and by exploring his films in the context of significant political debates. By conceiving Fellini's cinema as an individual expression of the nation's "mythical biography," the director's most celebrated themes and images - a nostalgia for childhood, unattainable female figures, fantasy, the circus, carnival - become symbols of Italy's traumatic modernity and perpetual adolescence.
Political reading of Fellini’s theme and image through a close examination of papers, publicity files and debates (in contrast with the notorious self-referential interpretation of his films) and historical reconstruction of his clash with Silvio Berlusconi during the 80’s.
Analysis of the making of Fellini’s reputation (and tactical use of the rhetoric of "Maestro").
Commentary on the (unknown) private correspondence between Fellini and Giulio Andreotti (leader of the Christian Democratic Party and most influential political in the after-war period).
Close analysis of Fellini in Italian history, culture and identity.
"As a scholar deeply immersed in Italian culture, Minuz knows the material inside and out, and his fresh interpretations of Fellini's films reference both the political and artistic climate in which they were created. Smoothly translated by Perryman, Political Fellini is a truly valuable book, one that delves deep into Fellini as a critic of politics on a larger scale and society as a whole? Highly recommended." · Choice
"Political Fellini is a well-researched and -referenced study of Fedrerico Fellini, Italian cinema, and culture. He gives deep insight into Italian cinema and political culture. Both students and experts of cinema will hugely benefit from Political Fellini. It is the first full-length biography and study of Fedrerico Fellini as a great Italian filmmaker. It is a must read for everyone who is interested in cinema." · The Washington Book Review
