Le donne della Vucciria (Hiam Abbass) revolves around a party in the middle of a town square in Palermo, Sicily in Italy where Lubna Azabal sings and dances to music with many in the town including an old couple who create puppets watch. It is a short that is just full of beauty and liveliness where Abbass keeps things straightforward in the direction. Even as she focuses on the party itself with women wearing these colorful dresses with socks that also have a sense of style.
Spark & Light (So Yong Kim) is about a young woman played by Riley Keough whose car breaks down somewhere in Iceland as she worries about her mother’s health. The 11-minute short that is shot on location in Iceland has Keough’s character trying to get a signal or some sign that leads her to a home where some strange surreal moments that also involves clothes come into play. Even as it play into her worries and such as it is a gorgeous short that features a strong performance from Keough.
Somebody (Miranda July) revolves around a group of people communicating with each other through an app that July has created as a way to connect with one another. It is a short that is offbeat in the style that July is known for as she appears in the film as a woman at a restaurant reading a menu instead of playing herself. Yet, it is a short that has a lot of heart but also things that are off the wall while using the clothes to help play into this sense of quirkiness.
De Djess (Alice Rohrwacher) revolves around a fashion show hosted by nuns who found dresses on a beach wrapped in plastic as one of the dresses comes to life wanting to be worn by a young maid only for a divaesque model wanting to wear it. It is definitely one of the best shorts of the series in its approach to surrealism and humor where the models who wear these dresses are prey to the paparazzi while the main model played by Alba Rohwacher while Yanet Mojica plays the young maid who is in love with this dress as the dress chooses her. It is definitely a tremendous short worth watching as it showcases the brilliance of Alice Rohrwacher.
Les 3 boutons (Agnes Varda) has a young woman who receives a package where it is revealed to be a big pink gown that is filled with wonders as she would walk around Paris trying to discover the world outside of her small farm life. Starring Jasmine Thiere as this young farm girl who talks to the camera about her life and her own desires. The film has her walking around Paris in a simple dress where she would lose three buttons yet there is this lore about losing three buttons which means that the young woman would get three wishes as there is a sense of beauty and wonderment that Varda would display as it is a tremendous gem from one of the great filmmakers that ever lived.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino and screenplay by Michael Mitnick in collaboration with Pier Paolo Piccioli of Valentino, The Staggering Girl is a 37-minute short film made in collaboration with Valentino in showcasing their new fashion line through a story involving women and their encounters with fashion. Starring Julianne Moore, Marthe Keller, Mia Goth, KiKi Layne, Alba Rohrwacher, and Kyle MacLachlan. The Staggering Girl is a gorgeous and somber short film from Luca Guadagnino.
While the film is mainly an advertisement of sorts for Valentino’s haute couture line led by its current leader Pier Paolo Piccioli, the film does feature a narrative about a woman dealing with her ailing mother as she travels to Rome to be with her as they also think about the past. It is a film that doesn’t have much of a plot yet it does play into women thinking about their work but also a woman dealing with blindness as she is convinced her days as an artist is over. Yet, there are all of these mysterious things that occurs in the film along with flashbacks of the young woman with her daughter and other friends while they’re tended to a man throughout the film.
Luca Guadagnino’s direction is stylish as it is shot on locations in New York City and Rome as it play into these two worlds that its main characters live in. While there are some unique wide and medium shots, Guadagnino does play into this air of intrigue but also isolation that looms throughout the film while the flashbacks are lively in the scenes set in Rome. There is a sense of simplicity for the scenes in New York as well as the moments between mother and daughter in the present scenes in Rome while there are moments that are surreal. Notably as there’s a woman walking around in Valentino designer clothing as the clothes do play a key role in the story leading to its climax. Overall, Guadagnino crafts a rapturous and compelling film about a writer and her ailing artist mother thinking about their art and the next stage of their lives.
Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key natural lighting for many of the daytime interior scenes as well as the usage of little lighting for some of the exterior scenes in the evening scenes. Editor Walter Fasano does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few montage cuts in some bits of the film. Production designers Roberta Federico and Olivia Peebles do amazing work with the look of the homes of the woman in New York as well as a place she goes to for a party as well as the home of her mother in Rome. Visual effects supervisor Luca Saviotti does terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects that play into some of the mystical elements of the film. Sound mixer Valentino Gianni does superb work with the sound as it is largely straightforward to play into the way everything sounds in a room. The film’s music by Ryuichi Sakamoto is wonderful for its low-key, piano-based orchestral score that help play into the drama as well as the sense of longing throughout the film while the soundtrack include a couple of pieces by Bruno Lauzi.
The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous as it feature appearances from Sergio Di Nitto as an old boyfriend from the past, Arianna Pesce and Camilla Martellino in their respective versions as the young and teenage version of the protagonist Francesca, Edoardo Gabbriellini as a party host in Patrizio, Alba Rohrwacher as a friend of Francesca in Vera, and Mia Goth as a younger version of Francesca’s mother Sofia. KiKi Layne is excellent in her small role as a mysterious woman Francesca sees as is she a ghost or her neighbor in New York who is dealing with issues of her own. Kyle MacLachlan is brilliant in a trio of roles as a party guest, an old lover of Sofia, and Sofia’s caretaker where MacLachlan brings a lot of different personalities and sensitivity to those roles. Marthe Keller is amazing as the old Sofia as an artist who is going blind as she deals with aging but also isolation and the past as she looks back with sadness. Finally, there’s Julianne Moore in an incredible performance as Francesca as a writer who deals with her own struggles and loneliness where she goes to Rome to help her mother as well as aspects of her own past.
The Staggering Girl is a remarkable film from Luca Guadagnino. Featuring a great cast, amazing costumes, dazzling visuals, and a somber music score by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The short is a fascinating way in how to sell fashion design as well as tell a story about two women dealing with loneliness and creative drought. In the end, The Staggering Girl is a marvelous film from Luca Guadagnino.
Luca Guadagnino Films: (The Protagonists) - (Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory) - (Mundo civilzado) - (Cuoco contadino) - (Melissa P.) - (The Love Factory No. 3 Pippo Delbono - Bisogna morire) – I Am Love - (Bertolucci on Bertolucci) – A Bigger Splash - Call Me By Your Name - Suspiria (2018 film) - (Fiori, Fiori, Fiori) – (Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) – (We Are Who We Are (2020 TV series)) – Bones & All – Challengers (2024 film) - (Queer) - (After the Hunt)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino and screenplay by Guadagnino, Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, and Walter Fasano from a story by Guadagnino, Io sono l’amore (I Am Love) is the story of an industrialist’s wife who begins an affair with a chef that would bring trouble to her family during a crucial period in their life and their future. The first film in a thematic trilogy on desire where a woman seeks to find love in her rich and aristocratic environment. Starring Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, Maria Paiato, Diane Fleri, Waris Ahluwalia, Marisa Berenson, and Gabriele Ferzetti. Io sono l’amore is a ravishing and mesmerizing film from Luca Guadagnino.
The film is the story of an aristocratic family whose lives begin to change through some changing times relating to their textile business while its Russian-born wife falls for her son’s new friend in a chef. It is a film that play into this life of a family in Milan as they deal with their patriarch’s decision to retire and his choices for his successors as they deal with a new business world with his grandson introducing his family to a new friend whom his mother falls in love with. The film’s screenplay isn’t just this exploration of desire for one person but also the desire of a family just trying to find themselves as they embark on a new chapter. Notably as the film opens with a birthday dinner during the Christmas holidays for its patriarch in Edoardo Recchi Sr. (Gabriele Ferzetti) who announces his retirement from the textile business where he names his son Tancredi (Pippo Delbono) and grandson Edoardo Jr. (Flavio Parenti) as his successors as the latter brought in his new girlfriend Eva (Diane Fleri) while a man he lost to in a race in Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini) is a chef who came late to the party with a present for Edoardo Sr. where he is seen by Edoardo Jr.’s mother Emma (Tilda Swinton).
The film’s first act is about the dinner and Edoardo Jr. wanting to help Antonio create his own restaurant in his home near San Remo while there is family drama where Edoardo Jr.’s sister Elisabetta (Alba Rohrwacher) goes to London to study as she also has fallen in love with another woman and wanting to break-up with her boyfriend as it was discovered by Emma. The film’s second act that takes place months later where Emma goes to the restaurant run by Antonio’s father with Eva and her mother-in-law in Rori (Marisa Berenson) as Emma eats a plate by Antonio that she loves as she becomes fascinated with him where she later runs into him in San Remo where they begin their affair. The third act doesn’t just play into Emma and Antonio’s affair intensifying but with Edoardo Jr. dealing with the world of business as he becomes overwhelmed with his father’s decision and other things as it lead to some revelations for the family.
Guadagnino’s direction definitely has some stylistic compositions and such yet keeps the film grounded in its exploration of aristocracy in this family. Shot largely on location in Milan as well as San Remo and parts of London for a few scenes in the film’s third act. Guadagnino’s usage of tracking shots for the way characters walk into a room through the Recchi estate as well as close-ups and medium shots to play into the intimate moments in a room as Guadanino also uses wide shots to get a scope of the dining hall or the front lobby at the estate. The film also play into this struggle of tradition with the modern ethics of business as the former is something Edoardo Jr. wants to do as he learned a lot from his grandfather in understanding the business but also the workers so that they can maintain a sense of trust. Edoardo Jr. also wants to help out Antonio knowing how good he is as a chef but also as a way for Edoardo Jr. to make his own mark and prove that he can be a good businessman.
The scenes in the second act that include these sequences of Emma and Antonio longing for one another has this element of fantasy until they actually meet again as Guadagnino use the locations of San Remo as a character as this place that reminds Emma of her old life in Russia where she recounts how she met Tancredi. The film’s third act is about Edoardo Jr.’s resistance on what his father wants to do with the family business as it culminates with this dinner that has Antonio as the cook who creates a special dish that is a favorite of Edoardo Jr. as it leads to some revelations and chaos. Notably as it relates to these ideas of change in the whole family and their lifestyle with Emma also coming to terms with who she is and what she wants. Overall, Guadanino crafts a rapturous and entrancing film about a woman whose affair with a young chef would unknowingly create chaos within the world of her aristocratic family.
Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux does brilliant work with the film’s luscious cinematography with its naturalistic photography from the look of the snowy exterior in the film’s first scenes as well as what Milan looks like on a summer day to the usage of low-key and stylish lighting for some of the interior scenes at night. Editor Walter Fasano does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of transitional dissolves, jump-cuts, and other stylish cuts to play into some of the drama and this mixture of fantasy and reality. Production designer Francesca di Mottola and set decorator Monica Sironi do amazing work with the look of the Recchi family estate in its many rooms and interiors as well as Antonio’s own home and some of the exteriors at the estate which is actually the Villa Necchi Campiglio that is at the center of Milan. Costume designer Antonella Cannarozzi does fantastic work with the costumes from the stylish clothing that Emma and many of the women in the family wear including some of the casual look of Elisabetta in London as well as some of the designer suits the men wear.
Visual effects supervisor Stefano Marinoni does terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it play into a few bits of fantasy including a brief flashback of Emma as a child. Sound editor/mixer Francesco Liotard does superb work with the sound as it does play into natural elements along with a few bits that play into the elements of fantasy. Music supervisor Jen Moss does incredible work in cultivating the music’s soundtrack that largely consists of classical pieces by John Adams that feature some unique orchestral piano bits as well as other lush music pieces while other contributions include a piece from Gustav Mahler as well as original pieces from editor/co-writer Walter Fasano with Nathalie Tanner, Elliot Smith, Tony Esposito, Arto Lindsay, and Marco Armani.
The casting by Jorgelina Depetris Pochintesta and Francesco Vedovati is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Honor Swinton Byrne in a brief bit as Emma as a child, Waris Ahluwalia as an Indian-American businessman who wants to by the Recchi family business, Maria Paiato as the Recchi family’s main housekeeper Ida whom the kids see as a second mother while is also someone very loyal to Emma, Diane Fleri as Edoardo Jr.’s new girlfriend Eva whom much of the family seem to neglect despite Edoardo Jr. and Emma welcoming her, Mattia Zaccaro as the youngest of the Recchi children in Gianluca who doesn’t do much with his family business as he’s still a student, Emanuele Cito Filomarino as Elisabetta’s boyfriend Gregorio whom she dumps for another woman, Marisa Berenson as the Recchi matriarch Allegra aka Rori who loves her lifestyle but also tries to distract herself from some of the chaotic elements of her family, and Gabriele Ferzetti in a superb small role as the Recchi matriarch Edoardo Sr. as an old man who is celebrating his birthday as well as make announcements for his retirement and the people who will succeed him.
Pippo Delbono is excellent as Tancredi Recchi as Edoardo Sr.’s son who is given the chance to succeed his father as he becomes concerned with the future while also having an idea of doing things that he knows his father and son wouldn’t approve. Alba Rohrwacher is fantastic as Elisabetta “Betta” Recchi as Emma’s daughter who is known for her drawing but is switching to photography where she studies in London and falls in love with another woman where she would guide her mother to follow her heart. Edoardo Gabbriellini is amazing as Antonio as a chef whom Edoardo Jr. befriended following a race that wants to create his own restaurant while he falls for Emma unaware of the chaos they create as he is a man that brings an air of simplicity that Emma had forgotten. Flavio Parenti is brilliant as Edoardo Jr. as Emma and Tancredi’s son who is also named as his grandfather’s successor where he tries to instill ideas into the business while wanting to maintain its integrity as he also deals with new things in his life such as a new friend and a new lover but also contends with the ways of a new world that overwhelms him.
Finally, there’s Tilda Swinton in a phenomenal performance as Emma Recchi as the Russian-born wife of Tancredi who falls for her son’s new friend as she becomes the centerpiece of this conflict between doing what she feels and doing what she needs to do for her family. It is a performance that has Swinton speaking Italian for the entirety of the film with a bit of Russian as she brings an air of radiance into her performance as someone that is in love with not just Antonio’s cooking but also what he offers in life instead of this aristocratic world that she’s in where she has to play a certain role that doesn’t really allow her to express herself only to find inspiration through two of her children instead of her husband.
Io sono l’amore is a magnificent film from Luca Guadagnino that features a tremendous leading performance from Tilda Swinton. Along with its ensemble cast, ravishing visuals, luscious locations, its theme of tradition vs. feeling and tradition vs. modernism, and its incredible music soundtrack. It is a film that doesn’t play into the conventions of a romantic drama as it is a study of a woman and her role in an aristocratic family. In the end, Io sono l’amore is a tremendous film from Luca Guadagnino.
Luca Guadagnino Films: (The Protagonists) - (Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory) - (Mundo civilzado) - (Cuoco contadino) - (Melissa P.) - (The Love Factory No. 3 Pippo Delbono - Bisogna morire) - (Bertolucci on Bertolucci) – A Bigger Splash - Call Me By Your Name - Suspiria (2018 film) - The Staggering Girl – (Fiori, Fiori, Fiori) – (Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) – (We Are Who We Are (2020 TV series)) – Bones & All – Challengers (2024 film) - (Queer) - (After the Hunt)
(Played in Competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival)
Based on the collection of tales Pentamerone by Giambattista Basile, Tale of Tales is a collection of stories that would become the basis for many different fairy tales that are told in a surrealistic presentation. Directed by Matteo Garrone and screenplay by Garone, Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti, and Massimo Guadioso, the film follows three different stories that mixes elements of realism and surrealism. Starring Salma Hayek, John C. Reilly, Toby Jones, Kathryn Hunter, Shirley Henderson, Stacy Martin, Hayley Carmichael, Alba Rohrwacher, Jessie Cave, and Vincent Cassel. Tale of Tales is a rich yet offbeat film from Matteo Garrone.
Based on three different stories by Giambattista Basile, the film revolves around the fate of three different kingdoms and their encounter with something mysterious and unique. The first of which involves a barren queen whose husband sacrifices himself to get the heart of a sea monster for a virgin to prepare where both women would give birth to an albino boy who become friends much to the queen’s dismay. The second story involves a king who becomes fascinated by a flea in his hand during a performance from his daughter as he keeps it as a pet until its passing where an ogre identifies its skin and takes the princess. The third and final story involve two old women who enchant a womanizing king with an operatic voice as one of them tries her best to look young as she later meets a witch who would do that leaving the other sister behind wanting to be young.
The film’s screenplay would crisscross through each different story though the characters from all three different stories would rarely meet as it play into a world where these character all want something. Each narrative would build up into something such as the Queen of Longtrellis (Salma Hayek) is keen on winning the affection of her son Elias (Christian Lees) but he’s more concerned in maintaining his close friendship with the peasant boy Jonah (Jonah Lees). The story of the King of Highhills (Toby Jones) and his love for the flea would be a story about neglect as it relates to his daughter in the Princess Violet (Bebe Cave) whom he unknowingly gives her away to an ogre (Guillaume Delauanay) because he correctly guessed the skin of the king’s dead pet. The story about the King of Strongcliff (Vincent Cassel) and the two old women in Dora (Hayley Carmichael) and Imma (Shirley Henderson) relates to Dora’s desire to be young and become the object of desire for this lustful king. All of these stories share the common theme of selfishness as well as neglect and sin.
Matteo Garrone’s direction is definitely very stylish as it has elements of surrealism as well as references to classic fairytales. Shot on various locations in Italy, the film does play into that world of medieval times as it is the right setting for where these fairytales were created as it also borders into the world of the absurd. Garrone would use a lot of wide shots to capture not just the scope of the locations including the different kingdoms but also in the castles themselves as they all display a different personality into the people who rule them. There are also usages of close-ups and medium shots to establish the characters and their situation as Garrone would infuse moments that are very dark but also have this odd sense of surrealism where it is obvious that Garrone is taking some of his ideas from the works of Federico Fellini. Still, Garrone would provide his own ideas of style as it relates to some of the violence that Elias and Jonah would encounter as would Princess Violet and Imma in their own stories. Overall, Garrone creates a chilling yet whimsical film about three royal leaders and their selfishness.
Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of unique lighting schemes for some of the interiors including the scenes at night as well as the naturalistic look for some of the daytime exteriors. Editor Marco Spoletini does nice work with the editing as it is quite straightforward with some stylish cuts to play into some of the offbeat humor and drama as well as in some of the transitions. Production designer Dimitri Capuani, with set decorator Alessia Anfuso and supervising art director Gianpaolo Rifino, does amazing work with the look of the castle interiors as well as some of the look of the caves and places the characters encounter. Costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini does incredible work with the costumes from the lavish gowns some of the women wear to the clothes of the man including the ragged look of some of the characters including Imma and Dora.
Hair designer Francesco Pegoretti and makeup designer Gino Tamagnini, with special makeup effects and creature supervisor Luigi D’Andrea, do fantastic work with the look of Imma and Dora as old women as well as the wigs of some of the characters as well as the look of the sea monster. Special effects supervisor Leonardo Cruciano, along with visual effects supervisors Bruno Albi Marini and Nicola Sganga, does terrific work with the visual effects as it’s mainly some set dressing as well as in the design of the flea and its movements. Sound designer Leslie Shatz does superb work with the sound in creating some sound effects as well as capture much of the atmosphere in the recorded sounds at the different locations in the film. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is great as it is one of the film’s major highlights with its rich orchestral-based score as well as in the string and piano arrangements.
