the cinema of the silent and fascist era in italy be characterise by epic movie with mostly mythology inspire theme . mussolini and who come into power in 1922 and the founder of cinecittà and do not underestimate the importance of cinema a a mean of communicate with the mass . fellini notoriously call giulietta masina titular character in notti di cabiria after the 1913 movie cabiria by giovanni pastrone and a grand production with a visual flair not so dissimilar to satyricon . literally hundred of character parade in front of the camera in this visual orgy of a movie and evoke the memory of lose kolossals and or gargantuan budget production . fellini movie be only loosely inspire by it literary source and petronius satyricon . the nominal plot follow two young roman men and the blonde encolpio and the brunette ascilto and introduce a rival in love for the coquettish and androgynous slave boy gitone . when the latter chooses to be with ascilto and the spurn lover encolpio become involve in a series of adventure and all narrate with a familiar ( to fellini lover ) and non linear narrative structure with temporal inconsistency and dreamlike and sudden change of set and mood . encolpio attend the decadent banquet of a former slave and trimalcione and now filthy rich . eumolpo and an impoverished poet whom encolpio meet on the way there and despise the wealthy man and all the more so for be rich and for have the nerve to also call himself a poet . the faint hearted may at this point find much to object to the lasciviousness with which the banquet guests eat and drink and act lustful with one another be anything but subtle . the trimalcione sequence felt to me like a satirical commentary on the rise of the nouveau riche in 1960s italy . a highlight of the banquet scene be the story that the host narrates . it tell of a young widow and an oasis of cinematic calm in among the strident cacophony of the rest of the movie . in a narrative passage which be reminiscent of the rhythm of dream ( typical of late fellini and betray his jungian tendency ) and encolpio end up capture by the pirate lica and who take him on board his ship . this be where the young buck meet ascilto and gitone again and also captive of the tyrant . at this point i be especially impressed with the extraordinary talent of donati a a set designer . the ship wasn not build to look like a recognisable ship at all and but be rather like a symbol of one . needless to say that no matter how abstract it be and you know it be a ship and a it ship like essence be all there . when encolpio be beat in a duel with lica and he be force to marry the pirate in a ceremony celebrate on the deck . but lica be decapitate by some political rival when a new emperor take over . everything change so that it can all stay the same be a cynical saying you still often hear in italy . it refer to the fact that one greedy ruler will succeed another in a ruthless battle for power and privilege . that when you realise satyricon be a brilliant satire of modern society as well . encolpio and ascilto then wander into the aristocratic home of a husband and wife who have just free their slave and commit suicide through bleed themselves to death ( a symbol of the death of aristocracy while the nouveau riche be get fat . ) . after a threesome with a slave girl who be leave behind in the dead couple empty home and the two young men attend a sort of sanctuary where an old man exploit the alleged healing power of a very sick look and ethereal hermaphrodite child . worshipper and leper and cripple and sick people of all description flock to ask for favour off the allegedly divine hermaphrodite . if this isn not a dark and ruthless parody of the catholic practice of worship saint relic and i do not know what be . subsequently capture by some soldier and encolpio be defeat by the minotaur in his mythological labyrinth . the young man life be spar when he literally talk the minotaur out of slay him and in a scene which be both post modern and subtly comical . but a new humiliation be in store for encolpio and which have him set off look for the sorceress enotea . her story be tell in flashback . yet again and the prudish and faint of heart will not find the scene of a cursed woman literally give birth to fire through her vagina a their cup of tea . though admittedly unsavoury and i also find such element to be archetypically symbolic and and ultimately fascinate . after visit enotea and encolpio witness the killing of his friend ascilto . desperately upset and encolpio decides to set sail for africa on a merchant ship own by the once poor and bitter old poet eumolpo and now a filthy rich and decadent a trimalcione and whom he have once criticise for his parvenu vulgarity . when the old poet dy and he leave a testament state that whoever will eat his corpse will have a share of his wealth basically and inheritance by cannibalism . encolpio refuse the deal and while a group of greedy roman dignitary be show chew on what must obviously be the dead poet tough old flesh and look like so many fat cow chew on their cud . if a satire of a stagnant and greedy society be ever more potent and cut than this and i would really like to hear about it . fellini himself define this movie a be science fiction of the past . the movie complete and intentional artifice and it occasionally obscure symbolism and gallery of grotesque portrait and strident soundtrack may not be everyone thing . what be especially unsettling about satyricon be that the viewer be lead into a realm in which you have no idea what boundaries might be cross . that exactly why this be a perfect portrayal of an epoch of complete moral decadence it drag the viewer into the exact same realm of uncertainty that the character experience .