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‘I Am Love’ director chats Globes, Oscars

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American critics love ‘I Am Love’ for its absurd melodrama. The Boston Globe food critic Ty Burr warns movie-goers to eat and have sex prior to seeing the film from director Luca Guadagnino as it preys on the senses with its luscious scenes of romance and food. The Italian drama has grossed $10 million worldwide, with $5 million coming from U.S. audiences. Starring Tilda Swinton, ‘I Am Love’ is one of five titles vying Sunday for the Golden Globe for best foreign language film.

A win would be especially gratifying to Guadagnino, whose film was not selected by Italy as its official submission for the Academy Awards. ‘I never took for granted doing ‘I Am Love,’ and the idea of sharing this with all the people who worked so hard on the movie, my producers and Tilda make it extra sweet,’ Guadagnino said. ‘[The Golden Globe] nomination gives me a boost of pride. I’m proud to do this for Italian cinema, even though the Italian commission didn’t recognize what ‘I Am Love’ could have done for them by putting it in the Oscar race.’

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Rather, Italy chose ‘Mi Prima Bella Cosa,’ from Paolo Virzi. Guadagnino has been rather public about his disappointment with the snub from his home country, attributing it to provincialism and narrow-mindedness.

‘’I Am Love’ is a movie that wasn’t as successful in Italy as it was in the rest of the world,’ he said. ‘The way the commission thinks is, ‘we have to choose the movie we believe we like most instead of the movie that could have fit better into the race.’ But I wish that the Italian movie they selected makes it into the Oscars. I believe that it’s important for us in Italy and for Italian cinema to have the recognition.’

Guadagnino didn’t elaborate on why he believes his movie is superior as a choice for submission, but one could argue that Swinton’s international appeal would make it a better-known option for voters to choose.

Guadagnino said he doesn’t believe the film was ignored because it doesn’t star an Italian actress. Rather, ‘I Am Love’ centers on Swinton’s character, Emma Recchi, who, with a great Italian accent, plays the matriarch of an Italian family who falls into a torrid love affair with a young man.

In contrast, ‘La Prima Cosa Bella’ is about a misanthropic professor who returns home to assist his dying mother.

Guadagnino argues that Italians feel guilty about watching films about the wealthy -- the world in which his film lies -- and prefer smaller movies that focus more on the working class.

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Either way, it’s curious whether the attention he’s drawing to his film and the one the Italians chose as their official entrant in the Oscar race will have a negative effect on getting Italy some Academy Award consideration. We’ll know for sure on the Jan. 25.

-- Nicole Sperling

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