When I read the course outline and noticed that we’re watching Luca Guadagino’s “I Am Love (Italy)”, I had no clue what the “Italy” in brackets meant. I thought perhaps there were two versions and we were watching the version that was filmed in Italy? It wasn’t until we started watching the movie when I realized that the movie isn’t in English! I remember thinking that this was going to be a long class and that there’s no way I’m going to watch a movie in a language I don’t comprehend! Within ten minutes, I was hooked. This is the first time I’ve ever seen an entire movie in a foreign language through subtitles, and it was definitely worth it.

I remember being very confused by the end of this movie. I asked myself, “What the hell was the point of that?!” and “How do we even know they’ll even live happily ever after?” When I questioned during the discussion period as to what the point of the film was, I learned more about melodrama and how this film challenges a lot of social norms, especially the ones imposed on females.

Guadagino’s use of metaphors in the film worked well to contrast the restricted life of Emma in her seemingly happy industrialist family, such as the trapped pigeon in the church and the moth that was caught in the lamp. The use of food as symbols was brilliantly done as they placed such a high emphasis on Emma when she was having Antonio’s shrimp. I think that’s what really sparked the fire in making obvious to the audience on how much Emma adores Antonio’s food, and thus, Antonio himself. Nonetheless, I also found the scene very awkward.

Not only was this the first Italian movie I’ve seen, it was also the most explicit. Some of the shots were disturbing and I could feel some of the tension in the room and assume that I wasn’t the only one wincing at times and thinking “WTF is going on?!”, and trying to look away from the screen to preserve some of my 19 year-old innocence (well, whatever’s left of it anyway…).

Aside from the major things that everyone could see such as violated social norms and the feminist point of view, I couldn’t help but get another subliminal message: “Can you trust your partner to be loyal?” It was a bit disturbing for me because yes, we’re all for going against social norms, and yes, we’re also for doing whatever it takes to follow our dreams. But the question is, are we about destroying families? Emma is a mother of mature children and didn’t seem to consider the impact it would have on her children. Cheating is never okay in my opinion. There are always better solutions. I guess that might explain why this movie didn’t have the typical “and lived happily ever after” feel to it.

As someone who doesn’t watch many romance or drama films due to the intention of preserving my male-ness, perhaps it’s time to step out of my comfort zone, turn off the UFC and Gotham, and find more melodramatic romance films to watch.