L'amour fou
IFC Films | Release Date: May 13, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Time OutKeith UhlichMay 10, 2011
As engrossing as it is maddening, Pierre Thoretton's documentary on the sale of Yves Saint Laurent's extensive art collection is perched somewhere between a sanded-edged official portrait and a keen examination of affluence run amok. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 2, 2011
Berge is a meticulous and intriguing host, though one gets the feeling he's relaying, very selectively, only so much of the messier side of his life with Saint Laurent. So be it. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 20, 2011
L'amour Fou engages and moves viewers in two distinct ways. It engages us by showing us something we don't know about that's interesting. It moves us by showing us something we immediately understand, that has nothing to do with being a big shot and everything to do with being just another person at the mercy of time. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMay 19, 2011
The documentary is fascinating as a museum piece with Berge serving as docent. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 12, 2011
To realize that you may have the world while still feeling as if you have nothing is to experience a closer encounter with the void than most of us are likely to have. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn LevyJun 2, 2011
They say that history is written by the winners. Well, this is the story of Saint Laurent as told by his surviving partner. And it's, oddly, less about the man than about his things. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 21, 2011
An oddly discursive documentary that is, ultimately, more about Pierre Bergé, his companion and business partner of 50 years. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubSam AdamsMay 12, 2011
Like a well-crafted garment, it's seamless. There's plenty of amour, but not enough fou. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisMay 28, 2011
The movie Thoretton's made, L'Amour Fou, is ironic. It's a term that conveys wild, passionate love. But there's nothing "fou" about the movie. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyMay 27, 2011
While Pierre Thoretton's film boasts vivid archival footage of some YSL couture collections, Bergé's lugubrious tone renders everything black. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMay 27, 2011
L'amour fou means "crazy love," but we don't learn anything crazy about these devoted lovers. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Amy VernerMay 27, 2011
Despite its name, L'Amour Fou, a documentary about the late fashion genius Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, is not entirely a love story. Really, it's a story of loneliness and loss. Read full review
60
TimeMary PolsMay 23, 2011
Whereas Italian fashion icon Valentino was larger than life in "The Last Emperor," Matt Tyrnauer's jazzy 2009 documentary, Saint Laurent in L'Amour Fou is mostly a rather sweet and anguished ghost. Read full review
60
Village VoiceKarina LongworthMay 10, 2011
It plays like an extended auction catalog with commentary. Thematically recalling Olivier Assayas's "Summer Hours"-another film dealing with objects in a French art collection as receptacles for memory and personal biography-it sorely lacks that drama's tension between insular nostalgia and the wider, rapidly evolving outside world. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineBarbara GoslawskiMay 9, 2011
Akin to a stroll through a gallery, L'amour Fou is meditative and magically eye-opening. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis HarveyMay 9, 2011
Shy on the celebrity-gawking (and celebrity input) that marks many fashion documentaries, and neither gossipy nor an objective appreciation of his impact and legacy, picture is a successful portrait on its own terms, save one: It's unlikely to excite much theatrical interest. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJun 2, 2011
The details of Saint-Laurent's creative process are fairly scant compared to the endless display of material possessions; when the movie is over, it seems more like a catalog than a life story. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. MusettoMay 13, 2011
Not a definitive portrait of the designer, nor does it pretend to be. But it should be of interest to viewers even if there's not a single YSL label in their wardrobes. Read full review
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