I Am Love (film)
I Am Love | |
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Italian | Io sono l'amore |
Directed by | Luca Guadagnino |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Luca Guadagnino |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Yorick Le Saux |
Edited by | Walter Fasano |
Music by | John Adams |
Production company | First Sun |
Distributed by | Mikado Film |
Release dates |
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Running time | 120 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Languages | Italian English Russian |
Budget | $10 million[1] |
Box office | $15.1 million[1] |
I Am Love (
The film premiered in September 2009 at the Venice Film Festival, followed by showings at various film festivals around the world. It first went on general release in Italy in March 2010, followed by the UK and Ireland in April 2010. In the United States it had only a limited release in June 2010, before being released on DVD in October 2010.[3] The film received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Inspiration
Aside from a few minor differences, the Recchi family are largely based on the aristocratic Castellini Baldissera family, whose properties and ancestral homes were used as the set for the film. Piero Castellini Baldissera appears in a cameo role multiple times throughout the film[4]
Plot
The wealthy Recchi family are first and second-generation
At the dinner, Elisabetta, who attends school in London, presents her grandfather with one of her artworks, a photograph, despite a tradition of presenting one another paintings. He is disappointed, but encouraged by his glamorous wife Allegra "Rori" Recchi (Marisa Berenson) to gloss over his disappointment.
Later during the birthday celebration, Edoardo Jr. receives a surprise visit from Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), the chef who defeated him in the competition earlier that day. Antonio brings a beautiful cake as a gift, and Edoardo, flattered by the gesture, introduces him to his mother.
Several months after the party, while Emma is running errands, she discovers a CD, with a note from Elisabetta to her brother Edoardo revealing that Elisabetta is a lesbian. She tells her brother of an encounter with a woman and that she is in love with another woman. Meanwhile, Edoardo Jr. visits Antonio in Antonio's father's restaurant. They later make plans to open a restaurant together on some property Antonio's father owns in San Remo.
Months later, Emma is having lunch at Antonio's restaurant with Rori and Eva, and she is aroused while relishing a prawn dish he prepares for her. Elisabetta returns to Milan, with her hair cut short, and invites Emma to go with her to Nice to look for a venue for Elisabetta's art exhibition. While stopping in San Remo en route to Nice to surprise her daughter, Emma spots Antonio, follows him, and eventually speaks to him outside of a book shop. She goes with him to his house in the hills above the city, and they begin their affair.
Meanwhile, Edoardo Sr. has died, and in London, Edoardo Jr. struggles as his father and other family members seek to sell the family business they inherited from Edoardo Sr. to foreign investors. Edoardo Jr. visits his sister and tells her of the future of the business and his opposition to the sale.
On her second trip to San Remo, under the pretext of discussing a menu for the formal dinner she will host for the foreign investors who are buying the Recchi family business, Emma spends the day with Antonio, and the two enjoy passionate lovemaking. Emma tells Antonio how Tancredi met her during a trip to Russia hunting for art treasures. Antonio cuts Emma's blonde hair, a long lock of which falls unnoticed to the terrace, where Edoardo Jr. finds it during his own visit after the London meeting. They cook together, and Emma teaches him to make ukha.
On the night of the dinner at the Recchi villa for the investors, a conversation between Edoardo Jr. and Eva is overheard, revealing she is pregnant with his child. Antonio prepares ukha. When Edoardo sees this dish served, he instantly realizes his mother is having an affair with Antonio. He leaves the dinner table in a fury. Emma follows him outside to the garden and alongside the pool she tries to talk to him. In pulling away from Emma's outstretched hand, Edoardo loses his balance, falls, strikes his head on the edge of the pool's stone trim, and falls into the pool. He sustains a
At the cemetery following the funeral, Tancredi tries to console Emma. She tells him that she is in love with Antonio. He responds by telling her "You don't exist." Emma rushes home and changes her clothes while her housekeeper helps her pack her things to leave. Before she leaves, she exchanges a knowing glance with her daughter, who it appears understands her mother's desire to follow her heart. Eva, who has hardly been noticed by Edoardo's family since his death, clutches her abdomen as she calls out to Eduardo Jr.'s siblings and grandmother, revealing her pregnancy. When the family members look back into the foyer where Emma was standing, she is gone.
During the final credits, Emma and Antonio are seen lying together inside a cave.
Production
Many of the scenes were shot in the
The soundtrack is made up entirely of pre-existing pieces by the modern classical composer John Adams. Swinton explained that the film was actually created around the pieces of music, and that they went to Adams after finishing the film and asked to use his music, which he had not allowed before. They were relieved when he liked the film and said yes.[6] The film's title is taken from a line from the aria La mamma morta (from the opera Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano), which is explored in the film Philadelphia—a scene from which Swinton's character watches in bed with her husband.
The food and meals in the film were inspired by the cuisine of Carlo Cracco, the owner of the
Cast
- Tilda Swinton as Emma Recchi
- Flavio Parenti as Edoardo Recchi Jr.
- Edoardo Gabbriellini as Antonio Biscaglia
- Alba Rohrwacher as Elisabetta "Betta" Recchi
- Pippo Delbono as Tancredi Recchi
- Maria Paiato as Ida Roselli
- Diane Fleri as Eva Ugolini
- Waris Ahluwalia as Shai Kubelkian
- Marisa Berenson as Allegra Recchi, called Rori
- Gabriele Ferzetti as Edoardo Recchi Sr.
- Honor Swinton Byrne as Young Emma Recchi (non-speaking cameo)
Reception
Box office
By March 2011, the film had grossed a total of
Critical response
I Am Love was met with positive reviews.
Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, praising Swinton's performance and saying "I Am Love is an amazing film. It is deep, rich, human. It is not about rich and poor, but about old and new. It is about the ancient war between tradition and feeling."[9] The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday said the film was "carefully composed and framed, gorgeously appointed, superbly choreographed and accompanied by a thrilling musical score, it would no doubt provide rewarding fodder for critics of art, design, fashion, dance and music."[10] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, saying "It's a high-IQ picture – there are few enough of those – and it's fascinating, if a little bloodless. A gorgeously costumed and styled piece of work."[11]
Accolades
The film was nominated at the 68th Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Film but lost out to Denmark's In a Better World.[18] Costume designer Antonella Cannarozzi was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work in the film, but the award went to Colleen Atwood for Alice in Wonderland.[19] The film was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, but lost to Niels Arden Oplev's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
References
- ^ a b c "Io sono l'amore (2010)". The Numbers. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ LA Times, June 18, 2010: John Adams lends his music to 'I Am Love,' starring Tilda Swinton Retrieved 6 January 2013
- ^ IMDb: I Am Love - release dates Retrieved 6 January 2013
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "The top houses from the movies". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012.
- ^ a b c DVD commentary [clarification needed]
- ^ "I Am Love (Io sono l'amore) (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (23 June 2010). "I Am Love review". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on 27 June 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Hornaday, Ann (25 June 2010). "I Am Love (Io sono l'amore)". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (8 April 2010). "Film review: I Am Love". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Pomeranz, Margaret (presenter); Stratton, David (presenter) (23 June 2010). I Am Love (Io Sono L'amore) review (television production). Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Sharkey, Betsy (18 June 2010). "Movie review: 'I Am Love'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Wise, Damon (2010). "I Am Love review". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (18 June 2010). "I Am Love review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- Filmink. Australia: FKP International Exports. Archived from the originalon 5 March 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly. "Quentin Tarantino's Surprising Choices for Best Films of 2010". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ "Golden Globes 2011: full list of winners". The Guardian. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Oscar winners and nominees in full". BBC News. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
External links
- Official website
- I Am Love at IMDb
- I Am Love at AllMovie
- I Am Love at Box Office Mojo
- I Am Love at Rotten Tomatoes