The Cry of the Diomedeo
The sound of the Diomedeo bird's cry is a poignant aural image, since it sounds as if it is crying. This sound serves as a segue into one of Guido's most shameful memories: his childhood obsession with a prostitute named Seraghina and the resulting punishment by the local Catholic clergy.
Claudia
Claudia appears numerous times throughout the film, even though she is only introduced as a real, flesh-and-blood character near its end. When she appears in Guido's fantasies and dreams, however, she always wears white and often takes on the properties of a ballerina or virginal figure. For Guido, Claudia in white symbolizes the purity and spontaneity he craves but can only achieve by starting his life over.
Traffic Jam
The film's opening image, which we gradually realize is a dream image, is a potent one, since it is a physical representation of the creative claustrophobia and frustration which with Guido will struggle as he seeks to make his next film.
Guido's Father and His Grave
Guido helping to lower his father into his grave is a morbid image that haunts Guido's dreams. It plays into Guido's larger fear of mortality and failure, particularly as it relates to the circle of life and sexuality.
The Final March
In the final sequence of the film, all of the characters from Guido's past and present (dressed in white) march towards a circus ring where they hold hands and dance in a circle. This is an expression of Guido's realization that he must embrace his own imperfections and celebrate his messy life. All the same, this image hovers on the edge of comedy and tragedy, carrying almost funereal connotations even as it is joyous.
The Film Set
The enormous structure on which Guido's film crew will project an image of a spaceship for his film figures heavily in the final stretch of the film and alludes to the Tower of Babel, another symbol of ambition and frustrated human progress. When the first chunk of scaffolding comes crashing to the ground, it effectively symbolizes Guido's failure to live up to his giant dreams.
Seraghina's Dance
Seraghina's dance is a beguilingly strange image in the film, especially once we learn that the church believes she is a manifestation of the devil. Despite her somewhat witchy, grotesque appearance, her rumba is foundational to Guido's lifelong obsession with women of all kinds. Seraghina can be said to represent the alternative to the kind of maternal, graceful lovers in whom Guido is also interested.
Guido's Dream of Suicide
Guido's "suicide" under the table at his press conference is a poignant image that ultimately embodies the conflict between the artistic freedom of creation and the culture of criticism that grows up around it.
The Flute Player
The late character that we see onscreen is a flute-playing young boy who may be an extension of Guido's childhood as it relates to his now-aging self. It is therefore poignant that the little boy disappears into the darkness of the film set as the last industrial lights are shut off.
