City of Women 1980
Directed by
Federico Fellini
Made by
Opera Film Produzione
City of Women Plot Summary
Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for City of Women (1980). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
Snàporaz, Marcello Mastroianni, wakes up during a train ride and has a brief fling with a mysterious woman in the bathroom, but it is cut short when the train suddenly stops at Fregene and the woman gets off. Snàporaz follows her through a forest and into a hotel overrun with women attending a surrealistic feminist convention. He winds up in a conference about polyandry, where his presence is rejected. A frightened Snàporaz retreats to the hotel lobby, but the exit is blocked; instead, he seeks refuge inside an elevator with a young woman, Donatella Damiani, who offers her assistance.
Donatella leads Snàporaz into a gymnasium and forces him to don roller skates. He is cornered and berated by a group of angry women who circle around him on skates and practice testicle-kicking with a dummy. Dazed, Snàporaz makes his exit down a flight of stairs, falls and hurts himself, and ends up in the domain of a burly woman tending to the hotel’s furnace. The woman offers him a ride to the train station on her motorcycle, but stops by a farm and lures Snàporaz into a nursery, where she tries to rape him. They are interrupted by the woman’s mother, who chastises her daughter. Snàporaz escapes and follows a lonely woman through the countryside. He joins her and her girlfriends in a car ride, driven toward the station, but the journey lasts well into the night, the women smoking marijuana and blasting Italo disco. A frustrated Snàporaz ditches the group only to be harassed by others.
He finally finds shelter at the mansion of Dr. Xavier Katzone, Ettore Manni, who shoots at his persecutors. Dr. Katzone promises to deliver Snàporaz to the train station in the morning and invites him to stay for a party. The house is a carnival of sexual imagery and phallic sculptures, while Katzone shows a wall of photos chronicling his conquests—the pictures light up and murmur arousing dialogue.
During the party, Snàporaz runs into his ex-wife Elena, Anna Prucnal, who has a drunken argument with him, and he also encounters Donatella again. The police, composed entirely of women dressed in Nazi-like uniforms, arrive and interrupt Katzone’s revelry, announcing the demolition of his house. They inform him that his beloved dog Italo has been shot, a grief that he must endure. Meanwhile, Snàporaz dances to a Fred Astaire song with Donatella and a friend of hers, but he fails to sleep with either partner, ending up in bed with his ex-wife instead.
Strange noises pull him into a dreamlike sequence: he crawls under the bed and slides down a magical toboggan that revisits his childhood crushes—a sitter, a nurse, and a prostitute—until he is somehow transported before a bizarre court that judges him for his masculinity. He is dismissed and set free, ascending into a towering boxing ring before a female crowd. At the top of the ring, he boards a hot-air balloon fashioned as Donatella. Donatella fires from below with a machine gun, puncturing the balloon and sending Snàporaz crashing down.
Snàporaz wakes up on the very same train, Elena across the way, suggesting the entire sequence was only a nightmare. He also notices his glasses are broken, mirroring his dream, just as the mysterious woman and Donatella reappear and sit beside him. Elena and the mysterious woman exchange knowing smiles as the train races into a tunnel.
City of Women Timeline
Follow the complete movie timeline of City of Women (1980) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.
Awakening on the train and a fleeting encounter
Snàporaz wakes on a moving train and shares a brief, surreal fling with a mysterious woman in the bathroom. Their encounter ends abruptly when the train stops at Fregene and she disembarks. He follows her off the carriage into the surrounding landscape.
Pursuit through the forest to a surreal hotel
He follows the woman through a forest and arrives at a hotel that seems to be hosting a surreal feminist convention. The place is alive with strange energy as women move about the halls, and Snàporaz becomes a reluctant observer of the spectacle. The moment marks the start of a night of uncanny encounters.
Conference on polyandry and rejection
Inside a hotel conference, Snàporaz encounters a discussion about polyandry and is openly rejected by the attendees. The room ridicules him and dismisses his presence, leaving him isolated and confused. The scene sets a tone of social rejection that threads through the night.
Escape to lobby and shelter in elevator with Donatella
Disoriented, he retreats to the hotel lobby but learns the exit is blocked. Donatella appears and guides him into an elevator where she offers help. The confined space becomes a fragile sanctuary amid the hotel’s chaos.
Donatella guides him to gym and roller-skate initiation
Donatella leads him into a gymnasium and forces him to wear roller skates. A circle of enraged women circles him on skates and practices testicle-kicking on a dummy. The humiliation leaves him dizzy and desperate to escape.
Escape down stairs and a dangerous detour
He slips away down a flight of stairs and ends up in the hotel’s furnace area, where a burly woman tends the flames. She offers him a ride to the train station on her motorcycle, but the journey detours to a farm and a nursery where the woman attempts to rape him. They are interrupted by the mother’s intervention, giving Snàporaz a narrow escape.
Car ride with a lonely woman and girlfriends
Escaping, he follows a lonely countryside woman who invites him into her car with several girlfriends. They drive through the night, smoking marijuana and blasting Italo disco as they wander aimlessly. He grows increasingly frustrated and is dropped back into a crowd of pursuing figures.
Shelter at Dr. Xavier Katzone’s mansion
Seeking shelter, he finds the mansion of Dr. Xavier Katzone and is briefly pursued by his would-be captors. Katzone opens his home to him, but warns that danger is closing in as a squad of pursuers circles the property. He then fires at the attackers, giving Snàporaz a momentary reprieve.
Katzone’s mansion tour and whispering photos
Inside the mansion, Snàporaz wanders rooms filled with sexual imagery and phallic sculptures. He discovers a wall of photographs recounting Katzone’s conquests, which light up and whisper arousing dialogue. He is both impressed and unsettled by Katzone’s vanity and ingenuity.
10,000th conquest party
The party commemorates Katzone’s 10,000th conquest with a grand spectacle: candles are blown out in a fevered cascade and his wife performs a telekinetic routine to pull coins and pearls into her vagina. The surreal celebration hums with bizarre sensuality as the guests mingle. Snàporaz navigates the chaos with a mix of fascination and discomfort.
Encounter with Elena and Donatella again
During the festivities Snàporaz unexpectedly encounters his ex-wife Elena and crosses paths with Donatella again. An alcohol-fueled argument erupts between him and Elena while Donatella lingers nearby. The tension undercuts the party’s gloss and heightens the film’s feverish mood.
Police raid and demolition threat; dog Italo killed
The police, composed of women dressed in Nazi attire, crash the party and threaten demolition of Katzone’s house. They reveal they have shot his beloved dog, Italo, leaving Katzone in grief as he buries the animal. The party abruptly shifts from revelry to menace.
Dream sequence of childhood and court; balloon showdown
Snàporaz drifts into a fever dream where he dances with Donatella and a friend. He slides through a surreal childhood montage and is judged in a bizarre court for his masculinity. He climbs a boxing ring, boards a hot-air balloon shaped like Donatella, and is shot down by Donatella herself, sending him plummeting.
Waking on the train; nightmare ends in daylight ambiguity
He wakes up on the same train, believing the entire sequence was a nightmare. Elena sits across from him, and the mysterious woman and Donatella walk in and take seats nearby, sharing knowing smiles. The train races into a tunnel as the glasses on his face remain broken, merging dream and reality.
City of Women Characters
Explore all characters from City of Women (1980). Get detailed profiles with their roles, arcs, and key relationships explained.
Snàporaz (Marcello Mastroianni)
A traveling man who stumbles into a female-dominated dreamscape, his masculinity tested by the surreal society around him. He wakes on a train, pursues a mysterious woman, and wanders through a hotel and countryside that bend to dream logic. He remains curious and cautious, often overwhelmed, with his pursuit revealing vulnerabilities in a world that questions authority and desire.
Elena, the Wife (Anna Prucnal)
The ex-wife whose drunken, argumentative presence anchors the narrative in intimate relationship dynamics. She reappears in Snàporaz’s dreamscape, symbolizing memory, guilt, and unresolved tension within a relationship that defies conventional resolution.
Donatella (Donatella Damiani)
A young, ally-like figure who guides Snàporaz through the hotel’s surreal mazes. She embodies the seductive, enigmatic aspects of the female-dominated world and offers assistance, while participating in its chaotic energies.
Dr. Xavier Katzone (Ettore Manni)
An eccentric inventor whose mansion hosts a lavish, symbolic party marking his conquests. His home is filled with phallic imagery and whispered photographs; his power is undercut by the arrival of the police and the unraveling of his world. He embodies triumph, decadence, and the danger of excess.
City of Women Settings
Learn where and when City of Women (1980) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.
Time period
Late 1970s to early 1980s
The events unfold in a contemporary era, reflecting the period's feminist debates and experimental cinema. The story shifts between urban and rural spaces in a timeless dreamlike flow, blending late-70s design sensibilities with surreal imagery. Time is used more to convey mood and ideas than to track a strict chronology.
Location
Fregene, Katzone's mansion, Hotel on Katzone's estate
The action moves from a train that stops at Fregene to a surreal hotel where a feminist convention unfolds. The hotel sits in a seaside area framed by forest and countryside, creating a dreamlike stage for the narrative. The environment becomes a maze of gender politics and theatrical spaces, blending travel, hospitality, and spectacle into one surreal setting.
City of Women Themes
Discover the main themes in City of Women (1980). Analyze the deeper meanings, emotional layers, and social commentary behind the film.
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Feminism & Power
A male protagonist is confronted by a world controlled by women, culminating in a feminist convention that challenges traditional authority. The hotel and its surrounding scenes expose vulnerabilities in male desire and social power. The narrative uses surreal staging to critique the male gaze and illuminate female agency. The confrontation with female power drives the film’s commentary on gender relations.
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Surrealism
The film employs dream logic where photographs whisper, symbols shift, and spaces bend around Snàporaz. The hotel, forest, and party scenes become surreal tableaux that blur reality and fantasy. Visual motifs collapse boundaries between masculine and feminine spaces, creating a disorienting yet revealing experience. This surreal style invites reflection on identity and desire.
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Dreamscape & Identity
Snàporaz traverses a sequence of gendered spaces that test his sense of self. The dreamlike episodes interrogate masculine façades, exposing vulnerability and longing. Identity unfolds as a collage of fantasies and erotic imagery that challenge conventional roles. The result is a fluid, evolving sense of self rather than a fixed persona.
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Masculinity & Insecurity
The male lead is overwhelmed by a female-dominated world that unsettles his sense of control. His attempts to assert dominance are repeatedly undermined by the women around him and by the film’s satire. The sequences emphasize performance, vulnerability, and the fragility of the male ego. The journey toward self-understanding comes through humiliation, awe, and disorientation.
City of Women Spoiler-Free Summary
Discover the spoiler-free summary of City of Women (1980). Get a concise overview without any spoilers.
In a sun‑drenched Italian landscape a charismatic traveler named Snàporaz awakens on a train to a fleeting encounter with an enigmatic woman in the bathroom. Their brief, electric connection propels him off the rails and into a lush forest, where the ordinary world begins to dissolve. The trail leads him to an elegant hotel that has been transformed into the bustling heart of a feminist convention, a place where the usual power dynamics are turned upside‑down and the atmosphere hums with lively debate and surreal spectacle.
Inside this uncanny sanctuary, Snàporaz finds himself a lone male amidst a sea of confident, outspoken women. The hotel’s corridors pulse with avant‑garde discussions, theatrical performances, and striking visual statements that hint at a world where gender roles have been reimagined. As he navigates conference halls that feel more like stages for symbolic rituals than ordinary meeting rooms, his bewilderment grows, and the line between reality and dream‑like fantasy blurs. A young woman named Donatella appears as a possible guide, offering a glimpse of hospitality while underscoring the strange, almost theatrical nature of his surroundings.
The film unfolds with a tone that balances witty satire and baroque whimsy, bathing every scene in bright colors, exaggerated set pieces, and a playful yet disconcerting soundtrack that drifts between Italo‑disco beats and classic tunes. Its visual style is deliberately phantasmagoric, turning ordinary spaces into surreal canvases that reflect the internal disorientation of the protagonist. Through Snàporaz’s eyes, the audience is invited to question the constructions of masculinity and power in a world where the usual hierarchies have been whimsically upended.
Ultimately, the story is less about a resolved conflict than about an immersive, curiosity‑driven journey. Snàporaz drifts through a kaleidoscopic realm of ideas, humor, and heightened sensibility, leaving viewers to wonder how far the dream‑like excursion will carry him and what revelations may surface when a man confronts a society turned on its head.
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