When we think of Federico Fellini we usually imagine flights of fancy with surreal touches, films that challenge even as they seduce. That’s fair enough for a number of the maestro’s films from the mid-‘60s and beyond. But there’s more than one Fellini, and more than one Fellini style.

That’s something to remember as you savor the arrival of the touring retrospective Fellini 100, a centennial celebration of the filmmaker’s work that touches down at MFAH Oct. 7-Nov. 7. (Fellini was actually born in 1920, but the coronavirus has a way of playing havoc with schedules). Before we begin parsing in earnest, let’s consider how fortunate we are to receive this bushel full of timeless world cinema.