I admittedly have no desire to know much of the fashion world.
Sorry.
But that is actually what documentaries are all about. They take you to a place where you aren't exactly comfortable, where you don't have a whole lot of information. They present new ideas and make you think in a different way and see things in a new light.
Valentino: The Last Emperor is a film based around a man that director Matt Tyrnauer admits is out of touch with the real world. The famous designer has gigantic houses in Paris and Rome, buys jewelry worth thousands of dollars, and has a spot on his private jet for his pugs.
The film goes through the lavishness and absurdity of Valentino Garavani's day to day life designing high priced dresses and working behind the scenes on fashion shows. Often times he is shown as a tyrant, other times, an icon.
The heartbeat of the movie comes in two ways: his relationship with his partner Giancarlo Giammetti and the not-so-subtle ousting from his own brand name company. The laughs definitely come into play when we see Garavani and Giametti bicker back and forth between each other due to the way the company is run. Dramatics and hijinxs ensue whenever they are in the same room. The dramatic factor plays strongly as we see a cultural icon get bought out of his own company and shoved towards the door, in part to a young president taking over the Valentino brand and part because 45 years sounded like a good time to call it quits.
The film climaxes as Garavani and Giametti plan Garavani's great 45 year aniversary party. all of his famous dresses are on display, celebrities meet and greet, fireworks go off and the two ride off in the sunset.
It doesn't seem like a spoiler because if you like fashion and follow it, you know what the outcome is.
I think the film succeeds when it goes into what it takes to make a Valentino dress. Those seamstresses are insane. In a reality television society, you would almost want to see a behind the scenes look at all the crazy personalities it takes to keep that brand running. American Chopper meets couture.
The film, if you aren't into fashion design can lose appeal very fast. Were this to be a film that dove into Mick Jagger's over the top lifestyle, I would probably more into it because I love The Stones. I could tell that the audience behind me understood the nature of the material and enjoyed seeing the icon tell his story.
If you like dresses, see it.
Matt Tyrnauer Q and A
On why he made the movie
" I had met Giancarlo and Valentino and I was really blown away by their relationship. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. It was not only a marriage but it was two people that was almost the same person... I wanted them to tell their story because it's more that a story about fashion, it's a story of friendship and a story of love."
On what Valentino thought of the movie
They were completely devastated by the movie. They hated it. They bombarded me with these complaints that there was no glamor, no beauty, no celebrity. The movie the would have wanted would have been titled "Celebrities Who Know Valentino and What They Think Of Him". What they got, was of course, not that at all."
On the editing process and the use of different languages
"By the time the filming was done I had become pretty proficient in Italian. I don't speak one word in French....But their secret code language was French not thinking that I could get a translator and understand perfectly well what they were saying... There are moments that they are speaking French because it is on the down low."
"
