I Am Love (Io sono l'amore)

Year: 2009
Country: ITALY
Run Time: 120 minutes

A sweeping family tragedy in the vein of Luchino Visconti, I AM LOVE is an impressionistic story of passion and change. The Recchi family of Milan forms one of Italy's oldest industrial empires. Preparations are underway at the Recchi villa for a sumptuous birthday luncheon honoring paterfamilias Edoardo Sr. At the table are Edoardo's wife Allegra (Marisa Berenson), their son Tancredi, his Russian-born wife Emma, and their three young adult children. Edoardo Sr. announces that he is passing on leadership of the business to the next generation. As the men become embroiled in difficult decisions that will affect the family's time-honored traditions, the women's lives, too, are on the cusp of change. But this is really Emma's story. Playing an outsider in opulent surroundings who is seized by an earthy new passion, actress Tilda Swinton charges every glance with meaning. I AM LOVE is an extraordinarily sensual film that expertly captures the rustle of luxurious fabrics, the heavy hum of nature in the Milanese countryside, the vibrant colors and pungent flavors of exquisite meals, and the trembling caress of fingers on naked skin. (In Italian and Russian with subtitles) – B.B.

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