I Am Love (2009)
A translation from the Italian Io Sono Amore, I Am Love is an Italian drama directed by Luca Guadagnino, better known for A Bigger Splash and Call Me By Your Name, starring the enviably fluent and endlessly brilliant Tilda Swinton. Developed over 11 years, the cast is led by Swinton, who plays Emma Recci, who has married into a wealthy Milanese family of textile merchants.
The film begins with a dinner party during which Emma’s husband, Tancredi, learns that he and his son Edoardo are about to assume control of the family business. Over dinner, which includes a Russian soup called ukha cooked by Swinton, Emma meets a chef named Antonio, a friend of her son’s, who she begins a clandestine affair with after he woos her with a sweet and sour prawn dish at his restaurant.
As Emma and Antonio become closer, they cook for one another, with Russian-born Emma teaching Antonio how to make ukha – a seafood broth with potatoes and vegetables. Many of the dishes that feature in the film were inspired by Milanese chef Carlo Cracco.
