I volunteered at SIFF last week passing out sample coffee packets and tearing tickets. After my duties were complete, the staff there told me that I could go into the theater and watch the film they were showing. The movie was called Lo Sono L'amore, or in English, I Am Love.
The film takes place in modern day Italy, where our main character, Emma Recchi, lives quite luxuriously with her family. Her husband, Tancredi, an Italian man, inherits a small fortune when his father decides to leave the family business to him and his son Edoardo. Early on in the movie, Emma seems content with her life, yet she seems to be bored with the wealth and Italian style of living.
Though the movie touched on a lot of social issues, one that stuck out to me most was an issue of assimilation. Emma Recchi, (played by Tilda Swinton), is a Russian immigrant who has married into this very wealthy Italian family. The film goes into no details as to why this marriage has taken place. One can assume it is most likely for the wealth involved. As the film progresses we are told of things Emma has lost due to the very process of assimilating into Italian culture.
Tancredi, Emma's husband, had forbade her to speak any Russian at all, and even goes so far as to change her name. We learn later on that Emma has forgotten her true, Russian name and in losing that, a piece of her identity is also lost.
Things begin to get a little bit more interesting when Antonio, a friend of Emma's son Edoardo, comes into the picture. Antonio is an artsy man. He is interested not in making money but in doing what he loves, which is cooking. He meets Emma through Edoardo and the two of them click right from the start. Emma also has a passion for cooking, but because of her wealth has never actually cooked a proper meal. Instead the housemaids do all the work, who I might add, were all people of color, but that's a whole different can of worms.
Emma and Antonio begin to develop a deep relationship, one of passion, something that has been lacking in Emma's marriage for years. Antonio also loves her for who she is, and never tries to make her be someone she doesn't want to be. In the end Emma breaks free from the confides of a lush and rather bland lifestyle and becomes who she feels she is.
Sources- Image from newdirectors.org
I haven't seen "I Am Love" but what struck me while reading your blog was how much like a typical American romance movie this sounded like. There's the woman torn between two lovers, one who represents stability and security (at the cost of stagnation) while the other represents chance and adventure. I don't know why but it always catches me off guard when I realize that no matter what culture, certain narrative structures persist (and have persisted for centuries). I wonder what it says about the human race though that we are so often asked in our stories to relate to characters who feel a lack of passion or excitement in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you frank for your excellent post. This movive sounds tight and I certainly whish i saw it. What really mkes it tight is because you too k your time and discribed it real well and mke your readers understand exactly what was happening in that movie.
ReplyDeleteAbner Richet
I never had the chance to view "I am love," but based on your blog I wish I did. As I was reading your blog, I thought it was sad that the girl had to be something that she wasn't and was forced to do so. It's very sad that people are forced into a marriage that they don't agree with. I was glad to find out that she finally got to be with someone she wanted to be with and was happy. Great Blog Frank!
ReplyDeleteFrank -
ReplyDeleteThis blog reflects your verbal discussion of the film with me - mostly that you weren't very interested in it.
You did a good job tying together the course concepts and the film's plot. However, I agree with Jake that it sounds like a pretty a-typical Hollywood film with a few small twists.
- Ruth