Author James Hay introduces his book Popular Film Culture in Fascist Italy: The Passing of the Rex with an extensive analysis of Federico Fellini’s film Amarcord. He uses this particular film, even though he cites many other Italian films that touched on fascism and refers to the reviews of critics, who have called Amarcord “one of the most accurate representations of the essence of Italian Fascism.” He finds that the film was unique in portraying fascism through the close examination of a young boy’s life, without overtly alluding to the repressive ideology, that most films about fascism indulged in. Amarcord--as the title’s meaning in Italian suggests (“I Remember”)--is more or less remembrance of Fellini’s own childhood, where Fellini relates to the young boy and interprets Fascism as he experienced it.  Fascism for the boy was no more than: “...his immediate relationships family, schoolfriends, and neighbors...it was simply another “imposition””. Amarcord covers the “institutions” of the boy’s life: the church, the Grand Hotel and the town cinema, which encompass all of his communal and familial connections. These are what Hay calls the town’s “fabric of consensus”, and nothing exists outside of this consensus for the community. Hay finds that the film views fascism at the “most vital” level--the local level, which includes the personal, intimate and communal. Amarcord is a film that touches on fascism through the eyes of a young boy and a small, isolated community in Italy going through radical cultural changes. Hay mentions a growing popularity in films about Italian fascism in the 70’s and argues that Stalin’s death and the Hungarian revolution in the 1950’s led to a rise of film directors who were free to question the authority of fascism. He argues that the cultural changes after Stalin’s death also gave way to interest in popular cinema, rather than auteuristic cinema, which is “aristocratic and authoritative”.

Fellini made Amarcord with his own childhood in mind. The film appears to be an accurate representation of the sentiments at the time, precisely because the filmmaker himself experienced it. Amarcord is told much like a personal memoir and it captures Fellini’s personal distaste for fascism. This film is a very intimate view into the filmmaker’s childhood. It is important to note that the “institutions” of the boy’s life were no more than the workings of opportunistic Italians--most Italians only joined the fascist party in order to maintain their professionalism. Such actions were not driven by an interest in the ideals of fascism. (see The Fascist Experience; Italian Society and Culture 1922-1945 by Edward R. Tannenbaum)