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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video

Yves Saint Laurent in his studio with his French bulldog, Moujik (Photo: Thierry Chomet)

YVES SAINT LAURENT: HIS LIFE AND TIMES
Directed by: David Teboul.
Produced by: Christian Baute.
Written by: David Teboul.
Director of Photography: Philippe Pavans Petit de Ceccatty & Hélène Louvart.
Edited by: Annette Dutertre.
Released by: Empire Pictures.
Country of Origin: France. 77 min. Not Rated.
With: Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé, Betty Catroux & Loulou de la Falaise.

YVES SAINT LAURENT: 5, AVENUE MARCEAU, 755116 PARIS
Directed by: David Teboul.
Produced by: Christian Baute.
Written by: David Teboul.
Director of Photography: Caroline Champetier.
Edited by: Martine Giordano.
Released by: Empire Pictures.
Country of Origin: France. 85 min. Not Rated.
With: Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé, Loulou de la Falaise & Catherine Deneuve.

Art, culture or fashion lovers who are unsure which new documentary about Yves Saint Laurent to see must chose 5, Avenue Marceau over His Life and Times. The latter pales in comparison to the poetic language of the former. There are beautiful moments in His Life and Times, though, like the one in which his mother sits in a garden and reluctantly discusses the homosexuality of young Yves while thunder coincidentally rumbles in the background. On the whole, however, this documentary doesn’t satisfy. The problem begins at the title - it creates the expectation of an in-depth historical biography, then doesn’t deliver. The interviews remain superficial: director Teboul seems to be so impressed by glitter, glamour and famous people that he falls into an uncritical silence. We never hear why Yves broke with his partner, Pierre Bergé, or exactly what “dangerous things” he did with his confidante, Betty Catroux. It’s incomprehensible, then, why this film, which makes use of much rehashed material, doesn’t include footage of the dramatic press conference Saint Laurent gave in 2002 where the couturier, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, announced that he was forced to quit because there’s no longer any room for haute couture.

The fact that the world of fashion has been taken over by corporations and mass production is precisely what renders 5, Avenue Marceau a breathtaking document of the times. YSL belongs to a dying species, the elite that vanished as a result of capitalism’s marketing strategies. But in the mirrored rooms of 5, Avenue Marcaue, where we see Yves and his team hard at work on his final collection, you’d hardly know it. There, power is given to the imagination because, as the master says: “It is only aesthetic ghosts that makes life possible.” Ravishing!
Simon de Boer, Dutch-Based Fashion Designer, Essayist & Journalist

January 7, 2004

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