This was another weird film. What is it with the foreign movies lately? Don't let the title and the fact that it stars Tilda Swinton fool you, the movie is Italian and subtitled.
It follows the wife of a Milanese textile factory owner who comes to realize that she has given up her identity for her children and a life of wealth after she begins an affair with a friend of her son's.
Like a lot of foreign films, the pacing is comparatively slow and there's almost no exposition. There is also a lot more nudity.
It probably seems terribly low-brow of me to point that out but, as an American film-goer, this prevents me from seeing a number of foreign releases until I can get them on Netflix. They're either chopped to hell or they can't get distributed. I don't know of a single theater around me that carried Blue Valentine and it was rated R for showing oral sex between a married couple. Granted that strains suspension of disbelief, but this movie had full-on ballsack. No way it was getting a wide release.
It also continues this year's Oscar trend of lesbians. Tilda Swinton's daughter comes out and admits to being in love with her female photography professor, whose name is Angharad which I think is an awesome name.
The costumes in the movie are beautiful but I'm thinking that it's probably not going to win. Tilda Swinton is really easy to dress since she's basically a walking clothes hanger (she does have a surprisingly nice rack though) and the character is rich so of course everything is tailored and couture. That doesn't seem as impressive as, say, The Tempest or Alice in Wonderland which are fantastical or True Grit or The King's Speech, which are historical.
Honestly, I think this may be a sop of a nomination to make up for not getting a Best Foreign nod. I would totally have traded out Dogtooth for this one.
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