I Am Love

The perverse flaws of this film are matched only by its characters' general incompetence at being human. The film debases liberty by suggesting that it consists only in the kinds of personal expression that stem from egoism.

The film text itself contains this sentiment. At one point a brother denies that a gift to his sister is generous by claiming that his motive is selfish: he is happy when he sees his sister happy. Too bad this voice from beyond, the bearer of this genuine insight about ethics, must be slaughtered for the others to be capable of self-respect.

If the film strives to affirm the value of living for oneself, it fails because it portrays autonomy as based in ridiculous violence. If it suggests that love and desire are only possible in constraint, then it's completely corrupt because it fails to differentiate the two. If instead it wishes to punish us for being capable of these tendencies, if it seeks to reveal the logic of our own deeply destructive habits, then it succeeds marvelously but the message must be dredged up with more effort than it would take to have fun being a member of the Recchi family.

Tetro

There's a lot to like in this film, but there's even more to dislike. The plot seems painfully formulaic: loveless childhood produces adult mood disorders, and the main character must renew his faith in love through a defiant act of will. Unfortunately, Tetro deviates from the formula with some unlikely (and occasionally impossible) plot lines and revelations. In this case the pure formula would have sufficed.

Praiseworthy here (prior to the unconvincing Sophoclean surprise) is a genuine depiction of the complexities of brotherhood. I like the burden the younger brother suffers under; he relies on others to make sense of his own life and history before feeling ready to live independently. This is easy to identify with.