A great city, such as Rome or New York or London or Paris, embodies accomplishment and promise, but challenges us: there are competitors for whatever or whomever we desire; and there are disciplines and rigors required for any worthy goal, personal, philosophical, professional, or political. There are usually issues of survival—of gaining the daily bread and the monthly rent. There are distractions—some of them delightful and delicious. One’s ambitions are not always fulfilled. The disappointments and compromises found in living in a great city are acknowledged in The Great Beauty, a wondrous work in which scenes of solitude follow scenes of community, in which anguish follows joy, in which routine and surprise shadow each other.... http://offscreen.com/view/la-grande-bellezza-paolo-sorrentino