‡ See I Am Love (Io Sono l’Amore) — again.
I occasionally find an artist I hope won’t become too popular. It’s a feeling of jealous possession. I can’t remember ever having this feeling about a film — until now. This amazing film is like a dreamy drug rush that makes it seem possible to leave behind a world of fascist perfection and all it offers its chosen ones for the romantic perfection offered by, say, la Boheme. Neither ideal can deliver in life, but through the most daring cinematic luxuriating I’ve seen since Tarkovsky, Luca Guadagnino with a cast led by the chameleon Tilda Swinton provide a suspended moment to show us what that ideal might look like. It’s a beautiful sight, but has a price tag that will nearly break the bank of mere mortals. The chosen ones, as usual in ideal and life both, just get richer. Don’t go see this — I want it all for myself.
