I Am Love (2009) starring Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, & Edoardo Gabbriellini

Emma (Tilda Swinton) left Russia to live with her husband in Italy. Now a member of a powerful industrial family, she is the respected mother of three, but feels unfulfilled. One day, Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a talented chef and her son’s friend, makes her senses kindle. -Synopsis

After watching Challengers this Spring, I decided to look up films that Luca Guadagnino directed in the past. For most (American) viewers, he became one to watch w/ I Am Love; Swinton has worked w/ him on many projects. This is a domestic drama w/ fine food, timeless fashion, and romance. The story is set in (modern-day) Milan, yet the visual style reminded me of a bygone era. The title is taken from the aria La mamma morta, part of the 1896 opera Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano; music is a major element here. Swinton learned both Italian and Russian for the part- wow! Swinton’s IRL daughter (Honor Swinton Byrne) played Emma as a child. As the idealistic heir of the biz, Flavio Parenti does a fine job (and looks gorgeous). Fans of Adam Driver (like me) will recognize Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher; they acted together in Hungry Hearts (2014). Here she plays Elisabetta, the artistic daughter of the (buttoned-up) Recchi family.

[1] Who is Mr. Guadagnino, the director? Where does he come from? He seems incredibly sure of himself. Costumes, interiors, landscapes are a visual feast. The score is also a very bold touch.

[2] While I was moved by much of the visual beauty of the film and the idea of breaking with tradition and listening to the voices within, I was infrequently emotionally involved with the characters and I Am Love felt distant and often contrived.

[3] Throughout the movie, it seemed that the food acted as a metaphor: Emma was starting to taste a whole side of her existence about which she’d never known.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

A Bigger Splash (2015) starring Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts, & Tilda Swinton

The lives of a high-profile couple, a famous rock star (Tilda Swinton) and a filmmaker (Matthias Schoenaerts), vacationing and recovering on the idyllic sun-drenched and remote Italian island of Pantelleria, are disrupted by the unexpected visit of an old friend (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson), creating a whirlwind of jealousy, passion, and- ultimately- danger for everyone involved. —Synopsis (Fox Searchlight)

Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a British rock star (similar to Bowie) on an extended vacay on an island of Italy. Paul De Smedt (Matthias Schoenaerts) is her quiet/chill bf of several yrs. The happy couple is forced to host Marianne’s music producer/ex-bf, Harry Hawkes (Ralph Fiennes), when he drops in w/o warning. Adding to the disruption, Harry brought along a much younger/American woman, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), who turns out to be his daughter! As Marianne has recently injured her vocal cords, she speaks V little (and almost in a whisper). Harry (never at a loss for words) takes over the villa’s kitchen, invites his friends over, and does a (hilarious) dance! We start to wonder: What is his motivation to be here?

If you enjoyed The White Lotus, I think you may also like this film (which is a blend of comedy, drama, and mystery). The (natural) way that Guadagnino deals w/ nudity, sensuality, and intimate relationships is rare (esp. for those who don’t see a LOT of European films)! As one viewer wrote: “Guadagnino is a remarkable filmmaker with a retro eye and a futuristic sensibility.” There is a small side plot involving young men (refugees from North Africa); this felt superfluous to some viewers. At a Q&A session for this film, Guadagnino (now 52 y.o.) explained that his mother is Algerian (raised in Morocco) and a Muslim! However, when she married the director’s father, she was estranged from her family.

[1] The quartet core together concocts a palpable interplay between each of them, Ralph Fiennes is the MVP simply because he is all over the place and wondrous to behold under a fully liberated context, and at the same time his performance knowingly triggers a tint of abstruseness which belies the nature of every human soul…

[2] A Bigger Splash is a character development masterclass by Guadagnino. Over the first hour, the film gives everything to build up the intricacies of each character’s attributes so that every subsequent variation and elaboration feels exhilarating. This is a film about people and relationships; how different associations can sometimes coalesce, yet at other times grate, how secrets and history must awkwardly co-exist with the fantasies of perfection.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews