Review of Valentino: The Last Emperor (2008) by Eyal D — 06 Dec 2009

I kid you not, it says that VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR, a searing & revealing look at the fashion icon in his late years is a film STARRING Valentino Garavani & Giancarlo Giammetti. And star in it they both do.

As befitting royalty, the two sparring partners in both business and in private life make sure that with a knowing wink we are made clearly aware of the very nature of their forty-five year old partnership.

And this is part of the fun watching the two as they create a myth of the "me and my shadow" variety in which it is possible to believe that the master puppeteer may not as well be the haute couterier as he would like us to think.

The film only nearly scratches the surface behind the scenes, and some of the more intense moments actually revolve around fidgety uber-enthused seamstresses doing it all by hands as they sew every last stitch in creating the elegantly superfluous collection that makes VALENTINO the legendary designer.

As for the rest, there hints a love affair for the ages that barely allows these two men of tradition to be exposed as a couple on film. And while it is obvious, sadly, it is hardly impressive that such mega-stars in their own rights in such a glamorous industry cannot just admit what they really mean to each other.