' screened at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival in April to " almost universal acclaim " and was Italy 's official entry in the later 3rd Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prize . French film director François Truffaut wrote : " Fellini 's film is complete , simple , beautiful , honest , like the one Guido wants to make in ' " . '' Premier Plan '' critics André Bouissy and Raymond Borde argued that the film " has the importance , magnitude , and technical mastery of '' Citizen Kane '' . It has aged twenty years of the avant-garde in one fell swoop because it both integrates and surpasses all the discoveries of experimental cinema " . Pierre Kast of '' Les Cahiers du cinéma '' explained that " my admiration for Fellini is not without limits . For instance , I did not enjoy '' La Strada '' but I did '' I Vitelloni '' . But I think we must all admit that '' '' , leaving aside for the moment all prejudice and reserve , is prodigious . Fantastic liberality , a total absence of precaution and hypocrisy , absolute dispassionate sincerity , artistic and financial courage these are the characteristics of this incredible undertaking "
3rd Moscow International Film Festival
3rd Moscow International Film Festival
8½