OPENING NIGHT - The polished rooms of a Milanese villa ignite with anxious activity as a wealthy industrial family, the Recchis, prepare to celebrate the birthday of their patriarch. It is an occasion designed to ensconce family traditions—the handsome grandson, Edoardo, introduces his new girlfriend; his sister presents another piece of her artwork to her grandfather; and the grandfather, knowing this is his last birthday, names the successor to his empire. But in the glow of all that is and has come before, change approaches the family dynasty with devastating certainty for all. As the refined familial machinations unfold, the woman of the house, Emma Recchi (Tilda Swinton), skates along the tight seams of the family, exuding elegance and uncertain turbulence. A story of passion breaking free of the constraints of class and privilege, Guadagnino’s sensual film recalls the grand sweep of Luchino Visconti’s classic family sagas.
Filmography: The Protagonists (99), Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory (02), Mundo Civilizado (02), Cuoco Contadino (04), Melissa P. (05).
Cultural Partner: Italian Cultural Institute, San Francisco.
Sponsored by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
120 Minutes
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