The character of Jep Gambardella is turning 65, which would mean he was around 11 years old when Fellini’s masterpiece La Dolce Vita attempted to understand an Italy caught in the transformation from a fiercely traditionalist fascist nation to the epicenter of fashion, art, and excess. We will ignore the math, though, because in many ways we can see Gambardella as a version of what could have become of Mastroianni’s Marcello Rubini in that earlier film. Continue reading…