The title of the film
The title of the film—La Dolce Vita in Italian or The Sweet Life in English—is deeply ironic. The main character of the film, Marcello, is leading the opposite of a sweet life. He is deeply unhappy, unfulfilled, and feels unloved.
Marcello's helicopter
At the start of the film, Marcello stops his helicopter in an attempt to get the numbers of a number of beautiful women. But Marcello is engaged to be married and his helicopter is supposed to be used for his work as a journalist, not for personal use.
Maddalena
Marcello is engaged to be married and seemingly loves his fiancée dearly, but decides to have sex with a woman he had before never met (named Maddalena). This illustrates how morally bankrupt and strange Marcello is; he professes to love his fiancée but engages in the ultimate betrayal.
Marcello's quest for love
Throughout much of the film, Marcello goes on a quest to find true love. However, he already has true love in the form of Emma, his fiancée.
Sylvia
After professing his love to his fiancée Emma, Marcello pledges to never be intimate (or even be in another room) with another woman. He very quickly breaks his vow to Emma with Sylvia, who is also engaged to be married and is seemingly in love with her fiancée.
