My brief review of the film

Author: sol- from Perth, Australia
6 July 2005
A number of fascinating sequences and a few interesting ideas keep this film afloat when the other element do not work out. The film makes it quite clear within the first hour that what we are witnessing is a dream, and the sets, costumes and hues all reflect a dreamlike state very well. But, we know little of our protagonist before he falls asleep, nor do we see much that he has done, and therefore it becomes all rather meaningless - just a collection of thoughts, rather than anything relating to the "real world".

Still, it is certainly quite interesting to watch, as one never knows just what will happen next. The film has a very intriguing screenplay, if not much else, and Marcello Mastroianni is rather good, if not great, in the lead. It is not a brilliant piece of work, especially coming from such a highly praised director, but it is an interesting film, with a gripping dreamlike quality.

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Dynamic Set Pieces, Wry Observation, and Marcello Mastrionni Make My Day

Author: museumofdave from Corning, California
21 March 2013
My adoration for this seemingly out-of-control fantasia of male fears of woman as individual or Love Goddess is somewhat unreasonable; I do not tire of watching City of Women and have subjected others to Fellini's episodic wandering, loaded as it is with spectacular imagery; remarkably, some of them remain my friends.

Early Fellini films such as La Strada and Nights of Cabiria are really fairly conventional films with unconventional characters, easy to follow and memorable for leading characters such as Gelsomina or Cabiria. In the early 1960's, Fellini experimented with drugs and underwent extensive psychoanalysis and the results of experimentation were reflected in his films, which became more personal visions and while delighting some viewers, frustrated others for their lack of linear narrative.

City of Women is one of those, jammed with bizarre imagery, full of often peculiar fantasies, as it follows the Fellini stand-in, Snaporaz, as he cuts a train journey short to follow a female conquest into a world that he has never considered, a world where women dominate, a world that addresses many male anxieties and fears, a dream world full of nightmares. I first saw this film in 1980, and thought it only fair; with the passage of time I think it has only become more relevant to male-female relationships, and the imagery, in contrast with most pallid films made today, visually electrifying. While realizing that others may react in critical horror, my vote for this Fellini is "Nine"!