I Vittelloni may finally be ranked as Fellini's best film, sufficientlyrooted in neorealism to convey an authentic sense of environment, yettouched with the ether of memory in its evocation of youthful boredomand rootlessness in the provincial town where Fellini grew up. Thevittelloni are the not-so-young sons of the middle class, perpetuallyunemployed mother's pets whittling their lives away in childishpursuits. ("They shine during the holiday season and waiting forthis takes up the rest of the year," Fellini said.) They includeFausto (Franco Fabrizi), the flirt headed for the dull pleasures offamily life; Alberto (Sordi), the sentimental buffoon who dresses as awoman for the fête; the writer Leopoldo (Trieste), who seeks famebut settles for an affair with a chambermaid; and the rebel Moraldo(Franco Interlenghi), Fellini's autobiographical hero who takes off forLa Dolce Vita. Fellini observes with intimate irony the macho banter andidiotic arguments, the anticlimax of the feast days, and the nostalgiaalready built into these young lives.