Verdict
Summary
A bizarre and meandering philosophical poem about the questions surrounding the meaning of life, Fellini’s The Voice of the Moon had me engrossed for about a half an hour and then lost me as it never quite matured or gelled into anything other than a big question mark.
Plot: The amusing and entertaining adventures of a recently released mental patient and his band of misfits, discover conspiracies to concur while looking for love.
Review: The last film from Italian maestro filmmaker Fedrico Fellini, The Voice of the Moon presents a newly released mental patient named Ivo (Roberto Benigni, who is surprisingly restrained under Fellini’s direction) as he wanders around a dreamlike Italy clouded by a perpetual moonlit night. As Ivo explores the countryside, he encounters other eccentric people, most of who seem as crazy as he is! The film culminates with a huge crowd dancing to a Michael Jackson song and making a big hullabaloo over asking the moon life-affirming questions.
A bizarre and meandering philosophical poem about the questions surrounding the meaning of life, Fellini’s The Voice of the Moon had me engrossed for about a half an hour and then lost me as it never quite matured or gelled into anything other than a big question mark. I usually enjoy Benigni’s antics on screen, but here he’s actually acting and moving with the slow flow of the film’s pacing, so he never quite emerges as the comedic talent that he is. Fellini’s fans will enjoy this more than I did.
Arrow Academy recently released a Blu-ray edition of The Voice of the Moon, which marks the first time the film has ever been made available in North America. It is presented in a 2K transfer, in Italian only with English subtitles, a documentary about the film’s production, an archive gallery, and an informative insert booklet, as well as a two-sided sleeve with two different pieces of artwork.