I saw Tilda Swinton’s latest movie with quite some time ago, at least considering how many movies I've seen since (including some really nice and remarkable ones). That's why my emotions about it are probably not there at the moment – and this creates certain pros and cons for writing about it now. Being aware of that fact I don't want to write strictly about the movie (there was so much noise about it - see
here and
here for some of the different views).
I just want to write something about a tendency, for want of a better word, in cinema which became clearer for me right after watching this film. I happened to see the film in one of Warsaw’s wanna-be upper class cinemas - places visited usually by people with certain expectations of what they come to see which means (bluntly speaking without going into detalis) cinemas not for “common people”. I'm underlining this fact so eagerly not to present myself as a snobbish person (for once!) but because the fact is relevant. Because this totally uncommon audience was totally unable to cope with this film reacting to the most serious scenes with nervous giggles. Since then I have kept asking myself about the reasons. And somehow I think that I have finally come up with a possible explanation.
It is fairly easy to observe that for the last few years people simply got used to the kind of cinema which constantly tries to pull their leg. It is somehow very trendy to talk ironically about touching or moving things - implying that you feel silly if they have touched or moved you. I don't have problems with that - very often such irony can give incredibly interesting results. However its overwhelming dominance means that some people can no longer appreciate such films like "I Am Love", where everything is serious because it is meant to be serious, and it's not going to stop being serious through some witty trick.
Meanwhile people are seriously determined to show specific self-defence (strongly built up through these last few years) and they try to start laughing just in case, somehow in advance, to prevent themselves from being silly - because when it appears that their emotions were not adequate and because of that even tacky, it will be too late.
And this is really sad since the movie is lushly beautiful – with great photography and music, as well as a great performance by Tilda (wearing Fendi and Jil Sander by Raf Simons) - indeed a spectacle which touches and moves (as far as I remember) and there is really nothing wrong with that.
"I Am Love" is a movie that goes back to the roots of cinema, when it comes to the philosophy of making a film with a truly intricate story.
Here you can watch adorable Tilda talking not only about the movie and
here you can have a closer look at one of the frocks she is wearing in the movie. Pure simplicity created by refined details and this colour.
And I want to go to Milan again ;-)
P.S. Great thanks to Ruben for editorial work on this article.
