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In 1952, in the midst of the strictness of Italian neo-realism and/or Italian comedy, of coarse humor, from vaudeville to variety shows, Federico Fellini directs, after the interesting debut of 1950 with the bittersweet "Luci del varietà", his second feature film: "The White Sheik", an unidentified filming object. Moreover, Luci del varietà was co-directed with Alberto Lattuada, so it is not wrong to claim that The White Sheik represents the true debut of Fellini as a director (and what a debut it is).
The screenplay involves him alongside Tullio Pinelli, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Ennio Flaiano (no small names).
The White Sheik tells the story of two southern newlyweds on their honeymoon in Rome. He, Ivan Cavalli (the great Leopoldo Trieste) is an old-fashioned Italian young man (after all, it's 1952) with regulation mustache, fixed and proud gaze, very jealous, very religious (for convenience, as viewers will understand). She (a very young and very charming Brunella Bovo) is the naïve, sweet, innocent, chaste and pure Wanda Giardino (née Cavalli, of course).
However, Wanda has an innocent little secret. She reads photocomics, the adventures of the white sheik, played by Fernando Rivoli (an unforgettable Alberto Sordi, here 32 years old and a peer of Federico). The cast, sheik included, is located on Via XXIV Maggio, a 10-minute walk from the hotel hosting the couple.
Wanda, with a ruse, eludes her husband's rigorous control and goes there to see the sheik. From here on, it's a delirium.
A stunning film by one of the greatest directors of all time and place (did you get that, Mr. Bergman?). Extraordinarily innovative, a pre-pop work (Andy Warhol adored it) that is hard to place in a cinematic genre but if we really must label it, we won't be original but will confidently say that the genre is "Fellinian".
Many elements that will recur in his future works are present. The dream: in The White Sheik, even Wanda says that the dreamed life is the real life, the only one worth living. There's a fire eater... there's also a cameo by Cabiria (Giulietta Masina), yes, her... who, 5 years later, will take us through her "Nights" in another unforgettable (and this time dramatic) film. Then there are camels, the sheik, scimitars, odalisques but it's all fake of course, it's an illusion, it's Fellini.
I was particularly surprised, among other things, by the high level of comedy. At times (for long stretches) it is an absolutely hilarious film, not only thanks to the superb performance of the outstanding Sordi (when he's on, we're obviously at the zenith of comedy), but also due to a series of situations, characters, faces, looks, shots, and more, all perfectly in line with the so-called comedic timing, A frantic pace, misunderstandings and lies, nothing is as it seems, especially the dream (of Wanda) which will reluctantly become reality.
The White Sheik is also a subtle but clear satire of that Italy, consider the scene of Cavalli's lunch with the uncles and the guy who plays guitar and sings and says only the sun the sea the sun and the sea with his nightingale voice, a sensational mockery of the stereotype of Italian songs and their clichés (it lasts a few seconds but I was particularly struck by it). To say mockery of just one aspect I've mentioned so far is being too kind, so let's move on. The mockery turns into satire and critique but never ferociously, it never turns into the "drama" of social denunciation but shows it to you clearly, you can't help but see it, it belittles it, ridicules it, empties it. The way it shows the world of photo-stories, not only the consumers, the readers but also the crew, the director, the operators, a hodgepodge of sloppy and approximate amateurs. Criticism of nepotism (Cavalli knows that through his uncle, a bigwig at the Vatican, he will get a job in Rome) and finally (what struck me the most) criticism of the false feelings of this facade Italy, of social convention. When the little wife disappears, Cavalli isn't troubled by her fate, nor does he suffer because something bad might have happened to her, no, he feels bad because the consequences of her sudden disappearance (on a honeymoon, no less!) would be disastrous for the good name of the Cavalli, for his reputation, for his career.
What else can I say... when you watch a Fellini film, it's like getting on a merry-go-round, on a rocking horse, but you go faster and faster and the lights, the sounds, the colors, the faces overlap and blend, and you risk losing your orientation.
A unique work as it is Fellinian, a film on cocaine, it gets you high but can be addictive.
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