Fellinis Casanova

Federico Fellini's darkest film cracks through the myth of Giacomo Casanova. As played by Donald Sutherland, the notorious womanizer is presented as a pitiable and terrifying figure. Casanova craves respect as a scholar and yearns to pursue his interest in alchemy. A sex scandal lands him in prison, but an escape to Paris provides him a new lease of life. Yet every Court in Europe and its attendant patrons and hostesses will only entertain him if he lives up to his reputation in the ritual displays of sex and courtship which form part of the daily life of 18th Century Europe. Fellini had dealt with the theme of the frustration of human desires in La Dolce Vita. In Casanova, the nobleman's search for happiness achieves tragedy, a painful reflection of the human condition. (Mr. Bongo Films)