A once-iconic fashion model strives to escape the world of images and disappear for good, but her son’s determination to make a final film about her sparks an unexpected collaboration and confrontation with the camera’s gaze.
Benedetta Barzini appeared to have lived the dream life. As an iconic model of the ’60s, she appeared in top fashion magazines, becoming the muse of the legendary Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. Separating herself from the images, which often involved women being portrayed as men’s fantasies, she became focused more on women’s issues, becoming a radical feminist activist. Believing that we only have our memories through photographs and not real experiences, she recounts her life in the fashion industry constantly being photographed but feeling no one has ever captured the real her. Benedetta’s desire to disappear without a trace propels her son Ben to begin documenting her over the course of many years and reenact her fashion editorials using professional Models with hopes to preserve her image.
This is such a beautiful, poignant documentary that entangles so many important pieces of life. A son honors his mother’s life through years of visual portraits while she struggles to break away from the very thing he demands of her. While Benedetta wants to explore a life without limits and forced images that do not capture the real human experience, in order to please her son she conforms to the very thing she runs from.
This is an incredible film about a son witnessing his mother’s journey as she wants to let go of physical structure and memories, finding the ultimate seclusion and freedom. As I leave the theater I wonder if she ever will, if any one of us ever will even after we are gone.
Now playing in select theaters
