Movie: The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza)

Paolo Sorrentino's 2013 movie won the 2014 Oscar for best Foreign Language film and I can see why. Jaw-dropping cinematography throughout, great scenery, staggeringly beautiful visual composition. The storyline is fairly non-linear and non-narrative, but revolves around an author Jep Gambardella who, at age 65, re-evaluates his life. In several ways this movie is a 2013 update of La Dolce Vita.

I will need to watch it a couple more times to fully drink it in -- it was one of those movies with so much depth, and so many quick scenes, that it's impossible to follow everything the first time through.

Certain aspects of The Great Beauty reminded me of Birdman -- the technically astounding throwaway bits, the wandering narrative, the fact that you're completely unable to predict where it's going.

Had to watch Birdman again.

It still blows my mind.

The trifecta of Birdman, The Great Beauty and Cinema Paradiso now make up three of my top 5 films.