By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: P. David Ebersole | Todd Hughes
Country: france, united_states
Year: 2020
Running time: 95
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9031484/reference
Michael says: “The only reason I watched this documentary about fashion designer turned brand magnate, Pierre Cardin, was because I used to be on the Board of Directors of the Provincetown International Film Festival with the two directors, P. David Ebersole, and Todd Hughes. I’m not generally into fashion, and I actually knew very little about Pierre Cardin, but I figured it would be interesting. And it was… to a point. I suspect Pierre Cardin was a pretty fascinating man, and there could have been an outstanding documentary made about him. Sadly, this wasn’t it.
“Cardin started out as a fashion designer, getting his own house quite young, before slowly expanding into many other design areas, ultimately creating a brand that was used on everything from high fashion to toilet paper (this wasn’t even in the film — I had to learn that on Wikipedia). His fashion was decidedly space age, using lots of geometric forms, and basically ignoring the female form. He was also a pioneer in the world of men’s fashion. The film trots out the requisite talking heads: people who worked with and for him, Naomi Campbell, Alice Cooper (?), and the directors run through his varying interests, but the whole never really made it to the sum of its parts. It felt disjointed and repetitive, and I can’t say that I know much more about Pierre Cardin the man than I did before going in.
“Ebersole and Hughes have directed several docs, most recently MANSFIELD 66/67, which, while enjoyable enough, also left me feeling slightly underwhelmed. The work that I have enjoyed the most was Ebersole’s directorial solo effort (although Hughes co-wrote and produced)
HIT SO HARD, a look at the life of Hole drummer Patty Schemel. It’s not that their docs are poorly made, they just don’t click with me.
2.5 cats
