Eagerly anticipating this week ... (14-24)

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (14-24)
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9/10/2024

I Am Love/Io Sono l'Amore (2009) - Guadagnino's international breakthrough is a delicious drama

♥♥♥♥

 

Star Tilda Swinton stands out in a wealthy family's portrait on this poster for Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love

A wealthy Milanese family's oldest son wants to open a restaurant with a mysterious new friend, who also appeals to his mother over the course of a time which is, for the family in question, fateful.

 

I Am Love is written by Barbara Alberti (Melissa P. (2005)), Ivan Cotroneo (Sisi (2009, TV-series)), Walter Fasano (Mother of Tears (2007)) and Italian master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Luca Guadagnino (The Protagonists (1999)), whose 5th feature it is. It is the 1st in Guadagnino's Desire trilogy that also comprises A Bigger Splash (2015) and Call Me By Your Name (2017). The title is a literal translation of the original Italian one.

It is a sensual love tale from beautiful Northern Italy with wonderful actors, foremost among them Tilda Swinton (Problemista (2023)) in a lovely performance, which teams with life and lust. The siblings and the chef are also portrayed vividly.

I Am Love is a delectably photographed (cinematography by Yorick Le Saux (Only Lovers Left Alive (2013))) cinematic treat, which somehow steers clear of becoming clichéd. It works its way to a fierce climax, which is open for interpretation, and ends there. The first of his works that most of us met him through, Guadagninos I Am Love deserves a 'Bravo!'

 

Related posts:

 

Luca Guadagnino: Top 10: Best gay-themed titles

Top 10: Best erotic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Call Me by Your Name (2017) - Guadagnino explores desire in sensual, erotic treat  

 


 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 3.6 mil. €, approximately 3.97 mil. $

Box office: 11.7-15.1 mil. $ (different reports)

= Box office success, possibly even a big hit (returned 2.94-3.80 times its cost)

[I Am Love premiered 5 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 120 minutes. Shooting took place from June - August in Italy and London, England. The film opened #32 to a 121k $ first weekend in 8 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 166 theaters (different weeks), grossing 5 mil. $. The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 1 mil. $ and the UK with 620k $. Box Office Mojo lists an 11.7 mil. $ final gross, while The-Numbers.com list 15.1 mil. $, however without backing it up with a detailed summary. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, lost to In a Better World/Hævnen from Denmark. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Guadagnino returned with 7 short and documentary projects prior to his theatrical return, A Bigger Splash (2015). Swinton returned in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). I Am Love is certified fresh at 81 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


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