'I am Love' is the saga of the Recchis, a very well-off Italian family from Milan who own a textile factory. It takes about a half hour until we enter the second act of the story. Up until then, we're introduced to the family in a very over long expository scene involving a birthday party for the family patriarch, the grandfather, Edoardo Sr. Things finally pick up when the grandfather announces that he's decided to retire and cedes the ownership of the company to both his son, Tancredi, and his grandson, Edoardo Jr. Note that the grandfather disappears for the rest of the film and one wonders why we hear nothing of him later on, especially because Tancredi eventually decides to sell the textile factory, a business, which is made clear from the outset, is very dear to the old man.
The funny thing about 'I am Love' is that all of the characters are underdeveloped—some more so than others. I'll dispense with the characters which we learn almost next to nothing about, first. There's Giancarla, Tancredi's brother, who has about three lines for the entire movie. Then there's Edoardo Jr's girlfriend, Eva, who he gets married to, but I can't seem to remember the nature of their conversations. There's also Elisabetta, Tancredi's daughter, who dispenses with her handsome boyfriend and ends up in a committed lesbian relationship while attending art school in London. Finally there's veritable straw man Tancredi himself, who's depicted as a stick in the mud, and gets his comeuppance when his Russian born wife, Emma, leaves him at the end of the story.
The main plot revolves around Trancredi's wife, Emma, who falls for son Edoardo Jr's new found friend, chef Antonio. The 'chef' is the quintessential Italian lover, passionate about the two things most dear to a passionate Italian male's heart: food and sex! Emma conveniently runs into Antonio while visiting Sanremo and (shock of all shocks!), they end up making passionate love outside Antonio's house in the hills high above the picturesque town. The love-making is shot tastefully especially with juxtaposed scenes of plants undergoing pollination (also thrown in, is the busy, modernistic, John Adams score!).
Meanwhile we find out a few things about Edoardo Jr.'s situation. He's really a good guy especially when we find out how upset he is about workers being fired down at the textile factory—after all the grandfather wouldn't have done that to his workers! But the foreman points out (and this is about the most ambiguity offered up during the entire narrative), the grandfather had no qualms about conscripting Jewish slave laborers during the war. It's an interesting tidbit, but never explored. Edoardo Jr. puts up the good fight after his father decides to sell the factory to an Indian-American businessman in London. Ultimately, the company is sold and Edoardo Jr. returns home deflated.
The ending of 'I am love' not only feels tacked on—but wholly manipulative. After finding a series of clues, Edoardo Jr. deduces that his mother and Antonio have been having the affair. They argue outside a party and Edoardo somehow stumbles and hits his head on the concrete beside a pool. The doctors are unable to save him and he dies of a brain hemorrhage. After the funeral, Tancredi finds Emma alone inside the church, and consoles her by covering her with his jacket after a rainstorm. Emma reveals that she's been in love with Antonio all along and in a laughable moment, Tancredi grabs his coat back and tells her that he has disowned her. As previously mentioned, Emma gains her comeuppance by walking out on Tancredi. There's the added feel good bonus in a nod to woman's rights—just before Emma takes off, daughter Elisabetta gives her approving nod to her mother, acknowledging that she's in complete agreement with her plan to dump her father and run back to the savory chef.
For cynics such as myself, 'I am love' is all style over substance. There's nothing distinctive about Emma and Antonio's affair and I found Edoardo Jr.'s bizarre death designed to extract as many unearned tears possible from a susceptible audience. 'I am love' has some nifty cinematography and the actors all give sincere performances. Ultimately, however, this is a film which is all about the 'passion' and nothing about fully realized characters. After wimpy Tancredi gets thrown under the bus and 'passionate' lovers Emma and Antonio get a free pass as they awkwardly embrace down inside the cave at the film's end, I could only react with a two word Yiddish expletive: 'Oy vey'.
The funny thing about 'I am Love' is that all of the characters are underdeveloped—some more so than others. I'll dispense with the characters which we learn almost next to nothing about, first. There's Giancarla, Tancredi's brother, who has about three lines for the entire movie. Then there's Edoardo Jr's girlfriend, Eva, who he gets married to, but I can't seem to remember the nature of their conversations. There's also Elisabetta, Tancredi's daughter, who dispenses with her handsome boyfriend and ends up in a committed lesbian relationship while attending art school in London. Finally there's veritable straw man Tancredi himself, who's depicted as a stick in the mud, and gets his comeuppance when his Russian born wife, Emma, leaves him at the end of the story.
The main plot revolves around Trancredi's wife, Emma, who falls for son Edoardo Jr's new found friend, chef Antonio. The 'chef' is the quintessential Italian lover, passionate about the two things most dear to a passionate Italian male's heart: food and sex! Emma conveniently runs into Antonio while visiting Sanremo and (shock of all shocks!), they end up making passionate love outside Antonio's house in the hills high above the picturesque town. The love-making is shot tastefully especially with juxtaposed scenes of plants undergoing pollination (also thrown in, is the busy, modernistic, John Adams score!).
Meanwhile we find out a few things about Edoardo Jr.'s situation. He's really a good guy especially when we find out how upset he is about workers being fired down at the textile factory—after all the grandfather wouldn't have done that to his workers! But the foreman points out (and this is about the most ambiguity offered up during the entire narrative), the grandfather had no qualms about conscripting Jewish slave laborers during the war. It's an interesting tidbit, but never explored. Edoardo Jr. puts up the good fight after his father decides to sell the factory to an Indian-American businessman in London. Ultimately, the company is sold and Edoardo Jr. returns home deflated.
The ending of 'I am love' not only feels tacked on—but wholly manipulative. After finding a series of clues, Edoardo Jr. deduces that his mother and Antonio have been having the affair. They argue outside a party and Edoardo somehow stumbles and hits his head on the concrete beside a pool. The doctors are unable to save him and he dies of a brain hemorrhage. After the funeral, Tancredi finds Emma alone inside the church, and consoles her by covering her with his jacket after a rainstorm. Emma reveals that she's been in love with Antonio all along and in a laughable moment, Tancredi grabs his coat back and tells her that he has disowned her. As previously mentioned, Emma gains her comeuppance by walking out on Tancredi. There's the added feel good bonus in a nod to woman's rights—just before Emma takes off, daughter Elisabetta gives her approving nod to her mother, acknowledging that she's in complete agreement with her plan to dump her father and run back to the savory chef.
For cynics such as myself, 'I am love' is all style over substance. There's nothing distinctive about Emma and Antonio's affair and I found Edoardo Jr.'s bizarre death designed to extract as many unearned tears possible from a susceptible audience. 'I am love' has some nifty cinematography and the actors all give sincere performances. Ultimately, however, this is a film which is all about the 'passion' and nothing about fully realized characters. After wimpy Tancredi gets thrown under the bus and 'passionate' lovers Emma and Antonio get a free pass as they awkwardly embrace down inside the cave at the film's end, I could only react with a two word Yiddish expletive: 'Oy vey'.