I Am Love (2010)

I am bewitched. The kind of movie Andrew and I were still thinking about when we rose this morning. Starring Tilda Swinton, someone I usually find more striking than beautiful, however, she is delectable here. She plays the Russian wife of an Italian industrialist (speaking fluent Italian and Russian throughout!) who's held up in a sprawling Milanese villa, throwing sumptuous dinner parties and running the household. Her three grown children have left the house and her husband is constantly away on business. Her eldest son (Flavio Parenti) decides to invest in a restaurant and starts bringing around his new chef friend (Alberto Gabriellinni) to meet the family. Shortly thereafter, Swinton finds out her teenage daughter is in love with another woman, and her daughter's courage to follow her heart prompts Swinton to pursue an affair with the chef (Gabriellinni's relationship with her son is never fully explained, there are homosexual undertones in their scenes, and later the son is seen sobbing, the reason for which is never revealed) Monumentally and unashamedly romantic, this film is so sumptuous it can make your head swim. From the 1950's style opening credits to the Fendi costumes to the lavish, fascist architecture of the villa, you know you're in store for an assault on the senses. In one scene, Swinton and Gabriellinni fuck in a sunny pasture, birds chirping, bees buzzing...it's one of the most rapturous lovemaking scenes ever. What's this about? It's about the sublimation of self, the loss of identity, the prison of family, and freedom. Written and directed with eyes and heart wide open by Luca Guadagnino. The luscious cinematography is by Yorick Le Saux, and the striking music score is by John Adams. The film is aptly titled.