Tilda Swinton's Film "I Am Love": A Review

Tonight we saw the Tilda Swinton-produced film Io Sono L'Amore. We loved it and spent the drive to the restaurant, the dinner, and the drive back discussing it. Let me start by first pointing out that this is not a film that may be quickly watched, filed somewhere, and consequently forgotten. It tends to have the kind of effect that a truly rich tiramisu has: it'll unequivocally beg for attention from all of your senses and organs post-consumption. The film is steeped in literary traditions stemming from Sophocles while contemporaneously being bathed in rich visual imagery.

At the core of the film lies the deeply intimate relationship between Emma and her son who adores her completely, Edoardo. To be able to truly decode this beautiful relationship one needs to be able to truly get the relationship between Jocasta and Oedipus. This film offers a kind of visual feast that is truly overpowering to the senses. From the bold colors of Swinton's wardrobe to the gorgeous architecture and arts that the city of Milan has to offer, the list of aesthetic contributions goes on and on.

This film varies from others when it comes to the candid way in which it deals with familial dynamics, sibling rivalry, the discussion of a love lost between two long-term spouses, gender and identity, birthing one's self anew, attaching to new love, marriage, art appropriation and ownership, et al. Ah, and, naturalmente, there is the theme of the importance of the culinary arts and how they epitomize such basic human drives as sensuality, instinct, the pampering of one's taste buds and so forth.

In sum, did I like this film? Absolutely. I felt the way I tend to feel when at the Seattle Art Museum. Well fed. And if you love Europe and linguistic diversity, this film will most certainly not disappoint.
Brava, Tilda, brava!

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