I Vitelloni
A melancholic yet comic portrait of overgrown boys adrift in a coastal town, capturing the bittersweet paralysis of youth and the quiet courage required to board the midnight train toward adulthood.
I Vitelloni
I Vitelloni

I vitelloni

"We are the hollow men in this last of meeting places we grope together and avoid speech. Gathered on this beach of the torrid river."

17 September 1953 France 103 min ⭐ 7.6 (726)
Director: Federico Fellini
Cast: Franco Interlenghi, Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopoldo Trieste, Riccardo Fellini
Drama Comedy
Arrested Development and Immaturity The Ennui of Small-Town Life Masculinity and Machismo The Desire for Escape

I Vitelloni - Movie Quotes

Memorable Quotes

Wealltalkedaboutleaving, butonlyoneofus, onemorning, withoutawordtoasoul, actuallyleft.

— TheNarrator

Context:

Spoken at the end of the film as Moraldo departs on the train.

Meaning:

Summarizesthetragedyofthevitelloni—theyaremenofemptywords, andonlyactionbreaksthecycle[2.5].

You're nobody. Everybody here is nobody.

— Alberto

Context:

Spoken by Alberto, drunk and in drag, to Moraldo after the town's yearly carnival party.

Meaning:

A rare moment of drunken self-awareness where the illusion of their grandiosity falls away, revealing their profound emptiness.

What else is there for us to do? Another day has come to an end. Nothing left but to go home, just as on every night.

— The Narrator

Context:

Spoken over scenes of the men aimlessly wandering the streets at night.

Meaning:

Highlights the crushing, cyclical boredom and lack of purpose in their provincial lives.