Director Luca Guadagnino presents I Am Love a devastating lovely and captivating film. I Am Love tells the story of the wealthy Recchi family, whose lives undergo a sweeping change when Eduardo Sr., the family patriarch, surprises everyone by when he decides to split power splitting power between his son Tancredi, Tancredi's wife Emma (Tilda Swinton) and his youngest grandson Edoardo (called Edo for short) as the successor of his massive industrial company, with no mention of his eldest grandson, Gianluca. While Gianluca wishes to work at the family business, Elizabetta youngest Recchi leaves for college in England and Edo dreams of opening a restaurant with his friend Antonio, a handsome and talented chef. At the heart of the family is Emma, a Russian immigrant who has adopted the culture of Milan. An adoring and attentive mother, she seems lonely and solitary as her children begin to find lives of their own. Her life is shocked to the core as she embarks on a passionate love affair that will change her and her family forever.
The film overtly talks about boldly moving into the future. It question the very nature of tradition. It looks at the dark side of tradition that ties a family so tightly together that it can't grow, breath, or respect who where it comes from or let alone be what it is. I Am Love embodies old world sensibilities. Undertones about class structure permeate the film. Tilda Swinton's delivers an impeccable performance. And in Swinton style, she learns Italian with a Russian accent for this film because in a world where class matters, the accent tells volumes about Emma's position and how she fits into the Recchi family, or not.
Visually the grainy black and white images of the past are juxtaposed against the stark color shots of the present punctuation the tension between old and new. The wide angle shots of the future herald the disintegration of the dark side of tradition that holds back progress as people who were once unaccepted sit comfortably and sometimes uncomfortably at the same table with the bourgeoise.
But more than that, I Am Love is about love in all it's forms. Love fortradition that connect one with family. Love for language that is used only with the most intimate of confidants. Love shown through acceptance that is unconditional. Love through sex that is more spiritual that carnal. These are the embodiments of love that this films presents. The film begs many question. Is money worth the loss of love? What is worth risking for love. In the end the men stand resolute and stoic while the women weep. Do I recognized the truth of love in one of their eyes? Do I sense regret over love lost in one? Do I see joy in love found in the other? All in all I Am Love is a sensitive and seductive movie. This is one of the year's must see films.
Cast (credits order)
Tilda Swinton (Emma Recchi), Flavio Parenti (Edoardo Recchi Jr.), Edoardo Gabbriellini (Antonio Biscaglia), Alba Rohrwacher (Elisabetta Recchi), Pippo Delbono (Tancredi Recchi), Diane Fleri (Eva Ugolini), Maria Paiato (Ida Roselli), Marisa Berenson (Allegra Recchi), Waris Ahluwalia (Mr. Kubelkian), Gabriele Ferzetti (Edoardo Recchi Sr.), Martina Codecasa (Delfina), Mattia Zaccaro (Gianluca Recchi).
US Release date 18 June 2010 (limited). Directed by Luca Guadagnino; written by: Luca Guadagnino, Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, Walter Fasano; released by Magnolia Pictures. Running time: 120 minutes; MPAA Rated R for some sexuality/nudity; genre: Drama, Foreign Film.
Opens at the Embarcadero Theatre June 25, 2010. Showtimes are (1:00 4:00) 7:00 9:50
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