I’m not as well acquainted with Fellini as I’d like to be. I fell in love with “8 1/2” from the description alone, long before I ever got around to seeing it. So, I’m pretty sure that I would have no difficulty becoming an aficionado of his films, given the chance to get myself up to speed. Unfortunately, the video rental shops in my neighborhood offer only Nollywood flicks. (No offense to fans of the genre, but “My Private Part” and “Royal Tears” aren’t at the top of my watchlist. Though “Antichrist Babies” did look interesting…)

Thus, it was with great pleasure that I got to see “The White Sheik” at a special screening at the Toronto Film Fest, presented and discussed by director Neil Jordan (who is brilliant in his own right).

The film instantly reminded me of the farcical/satirical aspects of Max Ophuls’ work — not mean-spirited, but not without its tiny barbs of truth hidden within scenes of simplicity or comedy. I heard that the light-heartedness didn’t persist beyond Fellini’s first few films, with his later work taking more audacious flights of fantasy/creative freedom. Jordan chose this film for the talk because in a first film “sometimes you can see the hints of what would come later bursting through like an eruption from another film entirely”. There are scenes that I am sure will stick with me for the rest of my life, like the circus-like photo shoot on the beach and the scene in which the newlyweds are sobbing like wayward children, unable to speak.

I don’t know if Fellini would have achieved success if he began his career today, but I have tremendous gratitude for the fans and cinephiles who keep these kinds of works alive.