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I am love / Io sono l'amore (2009) Guadagnino
Sense and Sensuality
Art film. On the surface this begins as a portrait of a wealthy industrial family in Milan. It's grand dad's birthday soirée and he takes the occasion to confess he's ailing and feels ancient and is going to retire---then installs not only his son as the head of the family business but his grandson Edo (Eduardo) as well.
There was some sort of race earlier in the day in which Edo was the clear favorite. During the party Edo apologises to everyone that he was beat out by a chef. At the party, Antonino (the chef) drops off a cake, either to ingratiate himself with him or to make sure he wasn't offended by his triumph over him. They become fast friends.
The film opens with the preparation for this dinner, yet the focus seems to be weighted equally to the two sides, the servers and the served. The subtext of the film seems to be about the inequality of relationships. Whether they be Business, or family, or friends, or even lovers are all conducted from dominance and weakness.
For example; it's let drop during a conversation that the Recchi fortunes got a huge financial wind-fall during the second world war when the grandfather used Jewish slave labour in their factory. His Son brought back Emma with him as his trophy wife during one his early art trips to Russia.
Nice things? A few quick images: One afternoon in Antonino's house, Emma reaches out to stroke his hair, a single ray of sunlight back lights her hand---for a second it appears to glow with passion. Later in the film, the maid wakes Emma. For a brief second the film flashes us the maid's face when she was young, she's cared for Emma her whole life, she's gone into her room and woken her from her naps thousands of times. Yet has never strayed from their formal relation of Mistress of the house and servant.
The micro close-ups of the plants and bugs breeding and feeding beneath their trysting place in the countryside. Is this a moral tale? I don't think so.
A few nice scenes: A single spot high lights what looks like to be only the idea of a meal in Antonino's restaurant Then Emma's beams with appreciation of just how exquisite his cooking is.
While on a trip to see her daughter in another town; Emma spots Antonino walking in the street. She follows him through town till stops a sidewalk café. She scuttles into a print shop across the street. She pretending to flick through a picture book on the counter while peering across the street to find him. Suddenly, she sees his reflected image, and dashes out into the street, he's not there. She turns and bumps into him. He invites her to see the restaurant location where he and her son are going to build their restaurant. They get into his truck, still clutching the book from the art shop. If the great Rod Tidwell and his wife from "Jerry Maquire" were on vacation and sitting in one of cafés across the street, he'd might go so far as to venture an idle comment about her ... shoplifting the pootie.
A lot of the drama isn't obvious. Emma Recchi's children are about to begin families of their own, leaving her without occupation.
Visually, it's overwrought and the film tends to rely on images rather than dialogue to advance the story. Which might not be a bad thing since this is an Italian film. Take the scene where her husband seeks out Emma in a cavernous mausoleum, she's removed her shoes so she doesn't have to hear the clattering echoes of her heels striking the marble floors---that represents the state of their marriage. Or the pitch meeting which takes place on an empty floor of a London office tower. There's only a conference desk and a few chairs. Despite all the highfalutin talk about giving back to society and the world at large, this is a fire sale.
Aesthetically, The film is a little bit like the chef's dream of opening his select restaurant in the countryside; where people would drive an hour or so just for his special nosh. The fast food crowd would consider it a tad pretentious, and over priced (and the idea you'd drive so far to sample his gustatory prowess would be complete nonsense) but then, I think his little restaurant in the hilly Italian countryside may not do killer box office but it would prosper quite nicely, Thank-you.
I am love ~ 9/10
Sense and Sensuality
Art film. On the surface this begins as a portrait of a wealthy industrial family in Milan. It's grand dad's birthday soirée and he takes the occasion to confess he's ailing and feels ancient and is going to retire---then installs not only his son as the head of the family business but his grandson Edo (Eduardo) as well.
There was some sort of race earlier in the day in which Edo was the clear favorite. During the party Edo apologises to everyone that he was beat out by a chef. At the party, Antonino (the chef) drops off a cake, either to ingratiate himself with him or to make sure he wasn't offended by his triumph over him. They become fast friends.
The film opens with the preparation for this dinner, yet the focus seems to be weighted equally to the two sides, the servers and the served. The subtext of the film seems to be about the inequality of relationships. Whether they be Business, or family, or friends, or even lovers are all conducted from dominance and weakness.
For example; it's let drop during a conversation that the Recchi fortunes got a huge financial wind-fall during the second world war when the grandfather used Jewish slave labour in their factory. His Son brought back Emma with him as his trophy wife during one his early art trips to Russia.
Nice things? A few quick images: One afternoon in Antonino's house, Emma reaches out to stroke his hair, a single ray of sunlight back lights her hand---for a second it appears to glow with passion. Later in the film, the maid wakes Emma. For a brief second the film flashes us the maid's face when she was young, she's cared for Emma her whole life, she's gone into her room and woken her from her naps thousands of times. Yet has never strayed from their formal relation of Mistress of the house and servant.
The micro close-ups of the plants and bugs breeding and feeding beneath their trysting place in the countryside. Is this a moral tale? I don't think so.
A few nice scenes: A single spot high lights what looks like to be only the idea of a meal in Antonino's restaurant Then Emma's beams with appreciation of just how exquisite his cooking is.
While on a trip to see her daughter in another town; Emma spots Antonino walking in the street. She follows him through town till stops a sidewalk café. She scuttles into a print shop across the street. She pretending to flick through a picture book on the counter while peering across the street to find him. Suddenly, she sees his reflected image, and dashes out into the street, he's not there. She turns and bumps into him. He invites her to see the restaurant location where he and her son are going to build their restaurant. They get into his truck, still clutching the book from the art shop. If the great Rod Tidwell and his wife from "Jerry Maquire" were on vacation and sitting in one of cafés across the street, he'd might go so far as to venture an idle comment about her ... shoplifting the pootie.
A lot of the drama isn't obvious. Emma Recchi's children are about to begin families of their own, leaving her without occupation.
Visually, it's overwrought and the film tends to rely on images rather than dialogue to advance the story. Which might not be a bad thing since this is an Italian film. Take the scene where her husband seeks out Emma in a cavernous mausoleum, she's removed her shoes so she doesn't have to hear the clattering echoes of her heels striking the marble floors---that represents the state of their marriage. Or the pitch meeting which takes place on an empty floor of a London office tower. There's only a conference desk and a few chairs. Despite all the highfalutin talk about giving back to society and the world at large, this is a fire sale.
Aesthetically, The film is a little bit like the chef's dream of opening his select restaurant in the countryside; where people would drive an hour or so just for his special nosh. The fast food crowd would consider it a tad pretentious, and over priced (and the idea you'd drive so far to sample his gustatory prowess would be complete nonsense) but then, I think his little restaurant in the hilly Italian countryside may not do killer box office but it would prosper quite nicely, Thank-you.
I am love ~ 9/10