Filmmaker Andrew Rossi examines an exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art that showcases Chinese-inspired Western fashions by Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton.
A film that, with each look, each sentence, each reproach, is conforming itself as an interesting portrait of characters, commanded by a great protagonist. [Full review in Spanish]
If you don't care about fashion there is another issue that unfolds fascinatingly over the course of the film: whether the theme of "the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion" is actually a celebration of Orientalism.
The film's focus is too easily distracted by celebrity and turns less documentary and more fawning love letter to an industry already in love with itself.
There are many deliciously revealing moments, including discussions about who will sit where at the gala - there has to be a celebrity at every table - and whether Vogue can afford to pay Rihanna twice the usual fee to entertain the guests.
Will lights and hardware be ready? Can they afford the $200K demanded by headliner Rihanna? The viewer's pulse may rise, too, as Rossi's camera roams frantic hallways, offices and limos.
This was more interesting than I thought it would be not just because it shows how much work, thought and creativity goes into such a show, but because of the deep connection to film in this project.
