Anita Ekberg plays the archetypical screen sex godess in this brilliant cinematic anatomy of the decrepit values of modern society. A society reporter for a Roman newspaper (Mastroianni) seeks meaning as he makes his way through the decadent world of the rich and famous, where emotions have been destroyed by surface realities, moral conventions, and unresolved guilt. Banned by the Catholic Church in many countries, La dolce vita became an international sensation, perhaps more for its hedonist vision than for the critical acumen it conveys through its epic scale and episodic structure.