tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post8788388022638593046..comments2024-03-10T07:42:17.071-04:00Comments on The Film Doctor: Obsessive love and art's revolt: 9 notes on Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love starring Tilda SwintonThe Film Doctor http://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-76380676832416366492010-10-23T09:19:49.495-04:002010-10-23T09:19:49.495-04:00Thanks for your thoughts, Jason,
The more I think...Thanks for your thoughts, Jason,<br /><br />The more I think about <i>I Am Love</i>, the more I like it for its resemblance to <i>Madame Bovary</i>, especially in the way Guadagnino's cold treatment of Emma's love matches Flaubert's mixed emotions about Emma Bovary's philanderings. Yesterday, I went to see a local play production, a civic effort in a small city in SC that deliberately caters to an older more sentimental crowd. All of their plays tend to be very sweet, and nice, and full of warm sentiment, and if the audience goes for that, then that's fine. But I prefer colder works of art that like to keep its dichotomies in play, and ultimately doesn't have much mercy for its characters. At the end of <i>I Am Love</i> Emma appears to triumph, and everything about that last scene--the church, the rain, her bare feet, the way she grabs her stuff back in the house, her daughter's gesture of approval, and the open glass door in which she has already escaped--all of those elements sort of reinforce her victory, and they tie together in a very <i>L'Avventura</i> like way--a visual vocabulary of mise-en-scene that reaches a climax, but she <i>doesn't</i> win, or it appears she doesn't because the cave scene that follows. Guadagnino never really tips his hand either way, and its that sense of poise between oppositions, that sense that Guadagnino and Swinton will not compromise their vision for the audience, that makes the movie so powerful to me.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-5202439804814758852010-10-23T08:27:43.917-04:002010-10-23T08:27:43.917-04:00I'd wanted to write about this film when I fir...I'd wanted to write about this film when I first saw it a few months ago, but I didn't find the time. Now I'm glad I didn't, as I missed most of the direct references, including the one from <em>Vertigo</em>, which is so obvious now.<br /><br />I think one reason I couldn't find the time to write about the movie was that I couldn't find enough time and space to figure out what I felt about it. The film confused me, mostly in a good way.<br /><br />In that Rodriguez piece you link to, Swinton says, "We wanted that feeling of really getting lost in the world of the film you're watching ..." <em>I Am Love</em> most definitely offers that. And I found much of it heartbreaking and I enjoyed the disjointedness of it. But at the same time, something felt just a little off to me -- something I can't put my finger on -- something that doesn't ruin the film by any stretch but that keeps me from falling for it completely.<br /><br />Which is the long way around to saying that I need to stick this in my Netflix queue to see it again. I'll either fall hard this time or figure out what's holding me back.<br /><br />As a related aside: I saw <em>I Am Love</em> when it had dropped down to just one weekend afternoon time at Washington, DC's art theater. It was on its way out. As a result, the small theater was very full. The following week it was back to having four times. And it kept those four times for about three or four more weeks. I mention all of this as a tribute to the film itself, which obviously stayed around thanks to the word-of-mouth recommendations of people who saw it.<br /><br />I love it when that happens.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-18030152660087778902010-10-22T10:29:26.393-04:002010-10-22T10:29:26.393-04:00Thanks, rtm,
I watched I Am Love on DVD, and then...Thanks, rtm,<br /><br />I watched <i>I Am Love</i> on DVD, and then the gang I was with immediately had intense discussion about the intricacies of the movie. It's the kind of film that one can watch just for the composition of each shot. The story is like a bonus.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-81639922638188443912010-10-19T11:55:14.890-04:002010-10-19T11:55:14.890-04:00I posted the trailer for this a while ago... sooo ...I posted the trailer for this a while ago... sooo beautiful! Aesthetic cleanser sounds fitting, I mean, the setting alone makes you experience Italy vicariously through the character. Glad it doesn't have much of a resemblance to Eat, Pray, Love... I'm not as keen on watching that one. Looking forward to seeing this when it's out on dvd.rtmhttp://flixchatter.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-39990956222888342412010-10-19T07:39:36.075-04:002010-10-19T07:39:36.075-04:00All superb comparisons, and I completely concur on...All superb comparisons, and I completely concur on Flaubert and Assayas, Film Dr.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-11203699810087997582010-10-18T15:34:59.196-04:002010-10-18T15:34:59.196-04:00Much thanks, Sam. I still find myself brooding on...Much thanks, Sam. I still find myself brooding on other details of the film--a trip through the countryside that reminds me of the last scene of <i>The Unbearable Lightness of Being</i>, a church scene reminiscent of <i>L'Avventura</i>. I find it interesting that Guadagnino admits to a heavy influence from Flaubert's <i>Madame Bovary</i>. The image of the patriarch passing on also carries parallels to Assayas' <i>Summer Hours</i>.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-16877533004742847532010-10-17T10:26:18.642-04:002010-10-17T10:26:18.642-04:00"Even as Yorick Le Saux's cinematography ..."Even as Yorick Le Saux's cinematography moves between edgy and gorgeous, I Am Love keeps shifting and re-shifting its allegiances between art and nature, the rich and the poor, the interior and the exterior world, and the past and the present. In the process, the film never settles on the obvious conclusion."<br /><br />I love this film too (an intended pun of course) but I am floored by this magnificent essay, one of the best you've ever authored, and one to stand with anyone in the blogosphere on their best day. Your probing examination -Point #3 on artistic forms is brilliance incarnate! This is a breathtaking assessment. Congratulations.<br /><br />I can't wait to see this film again on DVD. Love thats core too!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com