Review: Who is Valentino? How does he operate? When will he retire? These are all questions posed in the recently released Valentino: The Last Emperor. His empire is called as such because he is the last of the great designers from the middle of the twentieth century whose names appear on their designs. Throughout the film, much emphasis is put on the difference between the way that Valentino does things, and the way in which they are done now. Having everything from full creative control of his lines to hand-stitched garments on the runway, he tells you straight up that he loves beautiful things, and can you blame him? Ironically, the protagonist of this film is not the title character; Tyrnauer portrays Valentino himself as a mere character actor in the great drama of his story. Instead, the majority of the attention is paid to Giancarlo Giametti, his second in command and the man with whom he has spent nearly every single day for the last forty-five years. Giametti’s straight man offers an entertaining foil to everyone else in the business from the irate head seamstress, to the five pugs that are treated like humans and clearly used by the filmmaker for comic relief. Giametti is sincere, convincing, and entertaining - but the choice of relevant plot points is confusing. The first half of the film builds toward a show in Paris and the second half carries out the rest of the year until Valentino’s 45th Anniversary Celebration. The clear climax is the moment in which the company is sold to Permira and everyone waits with bated breath to hear whether Valentino will resign his post, bringing the end to the last great fashion empire. He insists that he will remain, but the film’s brief post-script, the content of which would have made for a more convincing plot line, informs us otherwise. Stylistically, the filmmaker blends and interweaves footage that is purely observational with his own interviews. To dictate the story line, he relies on a conversation with Giametti, the film’s de facto narrator. The moments that are purely observational tend to reveal if not highlight the humor in the ridiculous nature of Valentino’s world; simply consider the scene in which one of the pugs is forced to wear diamond earrings. Unfortunately, the inclusion of interviews conducted by members of the press adds another, more complicated layer to the storytelling. Somewhere between the observation and the crafted scenes, the filmmaker loses his voice and his point of view becomes unclear. So while thoroughly entertaining, Valentino: The Last Emperor fails to be compelling. Review by Emily Comisar Informative: 2.5 - perhaps a person with knowledge of the fashion business would have taken more from this. Entertainment: 4 - go in and expect to laugh Technical: 3 - the quality is good, but nothing worth noting Overall: 3 – much more could have been done with this material than actually was
 
Format: Theater Year: 2009 Running Time: 96 Minutes Distributor: Truly Indie, Vitagraph Films Producer: Acolyte Films Director: Matt Tyrnauer Date Reviewed: 05-27-2009 Story: Tracing Valentino's life from his 70th birthday to his final couture show, this fashionable documentary captures the spirit of the legendary designer's influence on the style and substance of the way we look. Highlights include an intimate, behind-the-scenes peek at his relationship with longtime business partner and lover Giancario Giammetti, as well as an up-close and personal look at the designer's creative process (NetFlix).