Last evening, CineVerse peeled back the petals on a fragrant but thorny flower called "I Am Love," an enigmatic arthouse picture from Italy starring Tilda Swinton. Here's a summary of what was discussed:
HOW WAS THIS
FILM DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU EXPECTED? WHAT WAS REFRESHING, UNIQUE AND
DISTINCTIVE ABOUT I AM LOVE?
·
The plot is not very substantial; instead of a
focus on narrative structure and storyline, there’s more of a focus on sensory
stimulation, esthetics, emotional context and visuals
·
The score can feel bombastic and emotionally
overwhelming, but arguably it informs each scene and telegraphs how we should
feel about what we see
·
The film is erotically daring: Tilda Swinton isn’t
afraid to reveal her body in a very candid way, and the lovemaking scenes are
passionate, raw and sensually charged
·
The cinematography is colorful, lush,
intentionally overexposed to give a tinge of radiance and resonance
·
There are 5 languages spoken: Italian, Russian,
English, Spanish and Arabic
·
Interesting juxtaposition of images: editing
together shots of lovemaking interspersed with shots of leaves, insects, etc.,
as if suggesting a communal experience with nature; also, consider the scene where
e Emma is eating, and we get sudden odd close-ups of her food and how it’s
being eaten, almost as if indulging in a delectable meal is an orgasmic
experience
·
The world around them seems to be mirroring the
characters’ emotional state: the outdoor lovemaking depicts insects and flowers
that also seem to be celebrating; when they’re sad, it rains; a tragedy seems
to provoke flowers to fade
·
The picture pays special attention to color, and
color is given emotional and thematic significance: according to one writer,
“the autumnal tones are frequently used to underline connections between
characters; Emma and her daughter each wear colors previously worn by the
other; Ida the housekeeper pours orange juice that matches her shirt; even the
leaves on the plant are the precise shade of green to compliment the walls and
furniture (in the Recchi family home)”
EMMA SEEMS TO
BE STUCK BETWEEN HER DAUGHTER AND SON AND FORCED TO DECIDE WHICH ONE TO
EMULATE. CAN YOU GIVE EXAMPLES OF THIS THEORY?
·
Her son is idealistic and bound to family and
preserving tradition
·
Her daughter is a newly transformed lesbian who
isn’t afraid to indulge in her desires and pursue the sensual world
·
Emma must decide which path to follow; it’s
obvious which one she chooses first, as she is shown cutting her hair short
like her daughter’s and wearing the same colors her daughter does
WHAT ARE SOME
OF THE THEMES TACKLED IN THIS MOVIE?
·
Free will, self-discovery and the pursuit of
pleasure vs. conforming to society’s rules and living up to the expectations of
others
·
The potency and undeniable allure of love, which
can act like a consuming force of nature
·
The characters almost seem to be puppets of
Cupid
·
Family, legacy and the lessons passed on between
generations
·
The rewards and consequences of acting on impulse
·
The unpredictability of the human animal
DOES I AM LOVE
BRING ANY OTHER FILMS OR WORKS TO MIND?
·
The movies of Luchino Visconti, especially The
Leopard, which also deals with a similar family and legacy-type situation
·
The films of Douglas Sirk, which focused on
emotional melodramas and women’s issues, such as Magnificent Obsession, Written
on the Wind, and All That Heaven Allows
·
The films of Michelangelo Antonioni
·
The visually poetic movies of Terence Malick
·
The book Madame Bovary
·
Hitchcock’s Vertigo in how Emma pursues the
object of her obsession
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