Federico Fellini’s last feature (1990)–uncharacteristically adapted from a novel, Ermanno Cavazzoni’s Il poema dei lunatici–is diffuse as narrative, like all of his later pictures, but often touching as poetry. Fellini built a set of a village square, then improvised the script day to day using two well-known Italian comics, Paolo Villaggio and Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful), to play his main characters. Fellini’s feeling for his small-town roots pays off intermittently, though this is decidedly a cut below Amarcord. If you care a lot about the director’s work you should definitely check this out. (JR)