In the opening sequence of “L’amour fou,” we watch news footage of the designer Yves Saint Laurent, in which the fashion giant announces his retirement. In terms both poetic and directly emotional, he makes a graceful exit speech.
A funny detail jumps out: At one point, Saint Laurent raises a finger to his mouth and licks it, the better to turn the page of his prepared speech. The elegant king of high couture is not above the most ordinary of gestures, it seems, and somehow the moment is humanizing.
As we see in the rest of “L’amour fou,” the pressure of being Yves Saint Laurent frequently got to him. Seriously shy, thrust into the limelight when his mentor, Christian Dior, died at a young age and prone to depression, Saint Laurent lived a life on the world stage while apparently wanting nothing more than to escape.
The title translates to “mad love,” and perhaps this describes Yves Saint Laurent’s relationship with his profession.
But it also conjures up the long-lasting personal relationship he had with Pierre Berge, who knew Saint Laurent for 50 years and played a key role in running the business (and in guiding other foundations and charities) in that time.
Berge talks throughout “L’amour fou,” and it’s his viewpoint we absorb. So the film is a double portrait: Berge, too, is under inspection, and his passive-aggressive approach to lauding his partner is fascinating. You can tell he genuinely loved and admired Saint Laurent, but Berge’s insistent modesty about his own achievements reminds us of all his accomplishments, too.
Threaded through the film is the auction of Saint Laurent’s art collection, which Berge offered after Saint Laurent’s death in 2008. This perhaps makes a point about Berge’s practical business sense, but it takes up quite a bit of time and doesn’t add much to the overall portrait.
The movie is full of footage of their homes in Marrakech and Normandy, which are lavishly decorated and lovingly recalled. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have that much fashion in it, which might be a disappointment to fashion mavens.
It even skimps on the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” aspect of the partying years in Saint Laurent’s career. A few brief glimpses of Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol will have to suffice for those interested in the flash.
But because the movie gives so much inside info on Saint Laurent’s life, it probably won’t disappoint anyone with an interest in the subject. Even if you don’t care about fashion, this study of someone who seemed trapped in his own success presents a close-up view of a contradiction.
In this movie, Saint Laurent looks like someone who’d like to go away and read Proust and not have to face the clockwork demands of creating a new collection every six months. He was well-compensated for his efforts, but he doesn’t look all that happy about it.
“L’amour Fou” ½
Documentary study of Yves Saint Laurent, the famed fashioned designer, who comes across as a terribly shy individual who would’ve preferred at times to withdraw from his very successful world. The film is a little short of actual fashion, and the story is told by his longtime business partner, who has his own particular view on all this. In French, with English subtitles.
Rated: Not rated
Showing: Seven Gables
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