Over the course of the past month, I’ve watched Fellini’s La Strada, Juliet of the Spirits, and dipped back into 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita, which I seem to dip into regularly for quick refreshers on certain scenes. I seem to gravitate toward Fellini in the winter months. This time of the year is ripe for emotional depth and probing of the psyche, especially in January, and this is what his films do. There are so many layers. Each time you watch, there’s something new to be discovered.

This year I’ve been trying to come to a conclusion as to what his best film is. In the past, I’ve also viewed City of Women, Amarcord and Nights of Cabiria. I still haven’t really come to a conclusion. I think La Dolce Vita may do the best job of combining surreal elements with reality. But sometimes, maybe you want a great story, and I think that might be La Strada. But at other times, maybe you just want to go totally crazy, and get mixed up in the emotions and the collage of existence, and that would be 8 1/2.

I still can’t say which is best. Maybe all of them are the best.