I Am Love [DVD] (2009)

Though relatively overlooked and considered a flop at the box office Guadagnino has truly triumphed with this paean to what becomes of a life only half lived.By reviving practices from a by-gone era and channelling the work of such greats as Hitchcock and Visconti; the ever more acclaimed Mr Guadagnino strides head and shoulders above any his contemporaries.However, the long winded twelve year gravidity was not bore by this singular man alone; the other half of this match made in heaven was in fact Tilda Swinton (one of the first and still the most convincing on the now exclusive list of those who have permission to impersonate Bowie).[...]And that indefinable ability to morph into any monika or new persona is prolific in Swinton's (who is in real life Scottish) role as a Russian migrant who's responsibility it is to reign as Matriarch over the distastefully affluent family behind a Milanese fashion house; which crudely mocks the counterpart of the more true to life Rechi name, Prada.Though not intentionally widening the schism between major rivals of the Italian fashion royalty, the move by Antonella Cannarozzi to choose Fendi and Jil Sander as the couturiers to the cast, can hardly have warmed the heart of the inesteemable Miss Miuccia Prada. Who it could be said is the closest living embodiment of Emma's character.But conspiracies and hidden meanings aside this truly is a tour de force in the modern take of a Shakespearean love story on a titanic scale.

This is a truly wonderful piece of cinema. It is an ambitious film which draws its characters' emotions in bold strokes , and makes use of a wider range of cinematic techniques to reflect them. Some criticise it for this saying that the end result does not work, but I find its energy and courage utterly engaging.Emma Recchi is a woman whose elegant life is lived in emotional limbo - the film charts her emotional reawakening. Tilda Swinton's portrayal of her is complex and surprising. She is not set up as a victim waiting to be saved, but a woman who has been unintentionally hemmed in by her choices. She is supported by a fine cast.I disagree fundamentally with the other review who said here that the film should have ended with the hospital scene - it is only beyond this scene that the theme of the film is truly realised, we break away from melodrama and the completion of Emma's emotional journey is seen. Despite the fact that combination of editing and score of the closing scenes is breathtaking and makes it a joy to watch.

Is it me or what? I ask myself this often about many movies coming out of Europe. My suspicion is that, were these scripts subjected to the underrated rigour of good Hollywood producers and directors, they would never get made. 'I Am Love' seems to me one of these.Though predictable, it has some good scenes. The odd intrusive passages of fast edits suggest problem-solving on the Avid after the event, repairs done on sequences that did not work off the page. The performances are for the most part restrained, avoiding melodrama, which is a rare blessing from a director who wants to pay homage to Visconti.Judging from the (bonus) interviews given by the director and his star Tilda Swinton, extensive research and endless discussion took place in the years before the movie was made. The risk here is that too much is assumed to be on the page, especially the silly heavy political analogies intended.In the end the movie's patina of rigour seems to me to hide the delivery failures; perhaps they were mere ideas that could never be communicated.The script should have been sent to Polanski in Paris: he would have given sound advice. Or Fed-Ex'd to Rob Reiner, whose working practice of putting 'thumb pressure' on every scene until it either does its job or gets rewritten or rejected, would have helped concentrate Tilda's and her director's minds.Not an awful movie, but could have been so much better.By the by: I find that the more bellezza a film has - and 'I Am Love' oozes it - the less it can conceal its structural weaknesses.

After seeing the poster for the film (considering I am a great fan of Tilda Swinton) I immediately decided to order the movie. I knew in advance that it would be one of those "either you absolutely love them or your find them absolutely boring" movies- luckily for me, I ended up paying money for a film I really enjoyed watching. The story is simple yet powerful- if you watch it from the surface you could characterize it as "bored rich housewife in midlife crisis finds a young and exciting lover, for which karma inevitably comes back to bite her in the ***". In this sense, the film is very reminiscent of "Damage" (starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche). However, viewed with empathy and a small dose of contemplation, the movie becomes extremely moving, layered, and (above all) genuine. And when I say "genuine"- I imply that the situations as well as the characters are really believable. Unlike the before mentioned "Damage" (which revolves mainly around passion and it's destructive power), "I am love" concentrates on subtly portraying the emotional journey and inner change of Tilda Swinton's character, and it also offers a much more positive ending. In addition (although you can read this in all the reviews for this film) it is beautifully shot and, aesthetically speaking, everything you would ever hope for or expect from Italian filmmakers. In conclusion- whether you choose to buy it or not, I absolutely recommend that you take the time to watch it.

da vedere!

A film that clearly brings forward with heightened artistic images and with amazing, exploratory music, the subconscious into consciousness. Emma, a Russian woman was seduced many years earlier and snatched from her country to Italy by a wealthy textile capitalist. The world which she joins under a new identity and a new name becomes the fabric in which she builds a home and family. This is about the awakening of a soul that has laid dormant for many years. I will not give away the catalyst that pushes Emma from her deep sleep into sheer ecstasy. Images of art, food, nature and longing fill the screen with the urgency it takes to motivate and inspire the human spirit!

Dieser Film ist unglaublich berührend und einzigartig, sein Zauber begleitet mich seit ich ihn vor vielen Jahren zum ersten Mal gesehen habe. Tilda Swinton ist die perfekte Hauptbesetzung und Luca Guadagnino ist ein Genie, dieser Film ist Magie!

Beautifully filmed . I love this movie & will watch it over & over.

Necesitábamos en la oficina dos ejemplares de esta película, afortunadamente amazon disponía de los dos últimos, la pedí a la una del mediodía, y necesitaba que el envío llegase en el día, aunque los gastos de envío subían un poco, en la tarde ya las tenía en el despacho. Impecable entrega y rapidez.