Santrise N. Webb Jalil Lespert effortlessly brings 50 and 60's Parisian Society to life through his adaptation of Yves Saint-Laurent but more importantly provides candid and as authentic as possible biographical content detailing the trials and tribulations Saint-Laurent endured as a young man trying to find his way in two separate dichotomies: the world and fashion world.Yves Saint-Laurent, as iconic as we now recognize him from a consumer perspective, was very much human and fell victim to the exact perils of life that trivialize our human experience universally.He was unequivocally an artist: one with creativity that tinkered the fine line between genius and insanity in his every interaction both personally and professionally. The film brings this reality to life and introduces viewers to the icon as early as age 21 before the fame, glamor, and romanticized images of him prevalent today.I was rendered speechless by numerous scenes where his life and relationship were illustrated intimately as it was a bit realer than anything I've ever viewed before in a film environment. Nevertheless, it tremendously enhanced the production value and gave me a deeper appreciation of the production and cast ensemble.I genuinely appreciate how the film portrayed his discontentment with his life in pursuit of being recognized for his talent during his tenure with Dior and beyond.It gives perspective to anyone trying to find their way or niche in life because the story illustrates the grim reality that the road to success is often rocky and under massive construction and also supports the notion that those who persevere inevitably forge ahead to succeed.If it weren't for his hardships and lacks thereof both personally and professionally we potentially would not know of the brand internationally revered and respected as the iconic Yves Saint-Laurent.I urge anyone interested in a glimpse of his earlier years to view the film and anyone with curiosity about his plight as a designer.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) Yves Saint Laurent is the newest film by actor-director Jalil Lespert and centers (as you might have guessed) on the fashion legend, namely on his earlier years and rise to popularity. You get pretty much what you could expect: YSL's constant changes between suffering personality and creative genius as well as lots of drama in terms of homosexuality, trust and betrayal of friendship, affairs etc.Unfortunately, not only Pierre Niney as YSL could not only convince me (wasn't really his fault though, more of the shoddy writing), but the whole film fell flat. It was all too showy and in your face. Zero subtlety. You hardly learned anything about the character, but it was all focused on putting as much theatricality and sensationalism as possible in these over 100 minutes. And then randomly include a meeting with Kalr Lagerfeld. The only really positive aspect of this one was Guillaume Gallienne as Pierre Bergé, who gave a quality portrayal and it was actually captivating to watch his actions and how he walked the fine line of dealing with the fragile genius. That is not enough though to save the film. Not recommended. You really need to have deep interest into the world of fashion to appreciate this film or maybe then you will hate it even more. Lets hope YSL gets a better biopic in the near future. He certainly deserves it.

lucasnochez Becoming a trend-setter in the fashion industry can be quite the challenge, but making a fashion movie with some cinematic and historical merit is the real challenge many have been willing to accept, and have failed miserably. Even though there are so many irreplaceable names within fashion with such interesting stories to tell (Dior, Arden, Versace, Ford, Varvatos, Gucci and Chanel to name a few), director Jalil Lespert chooses Yves Saint Laurent; one of the few fashion icons to have his pieces of high fashion and considerably iconic art pieces displayed in museums and prestigious art galleries around the world. Yet, with Yves Saint Laurent, we aren't quite sure if that is simply enough for a biopic of this stature.Lacking any real panache and coming undone at the poorly constructed narrative seams, Yves Saint Laurent becomes a retro-fitted cinematic mess that, similar to many of Luarent's pieces, is more fun to look at than to wear, or in this case, follow narratively. Yves Saint Laurent depicts the tormented life of a genius, torn apart by the luxuries of high living and fame at too young an age. While Laurent could never possibly be taken away from being a visionary, his newest film by veteran French actor Jalil Lespert focuses more on its grainy, melancholic exterior than it does with coherently telling the story of one of the most revolutionary haute couture designers of the mid-1900's.One of Lespert's greatest facilitators of telling Laurent's story is sex, and his story begins at the tender age of a twenty-one when Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (Pierre Niney) was simply the assistant to Christian Dior. Lespert's film is a daunting task of understanding the ambiguity of silence and the mixed feelings of Laurent, who makes advances to his female friend and model Victoire Doutreleau (Charlotte Le Bon), yet exchanges undressing glares to his Algerian male gardener–this introduction of the film really throws audiences off. Thankfully, the slight glimmer of brilliance that is Lespert's film is understood fully once it is revealed that Laurent is a homosexual, and falls in love with Pierre Bergé (Guillaume Gallienne) in a seamlessly idyllic visit to a friend's Northern villa. Although Laurent's marriage to Bergé is never seen on film, rather, the tyrannical disputes of power within Laurent's fashion empire and the constant sexual espionage between the couple is used to replace some of the fluffy, real life moments between the couple, the real life Bergé applauded the film for being a rather authentic look of the life of he and his questionable true love. It's too bad Lespert's film is ruined with an annoying voice-over narration that reveals the film as B-grade cinema rather than stuffy, fine-French cinema couture.Lespert is keen on making it clear that, Laurent had always led a privileged life, despite the horrors occurring in Oran, French Algeria (his birthplace) at the time of the late 1950's, and his family's move away from Algeria at the time and into France. Villa to villa, despite Laurent's apparent talent for fashion and designing, it shows just how much luck (good and bad), and being at the right place at the right time gave Laurent the opportunity to head the House of Dior, following Dior's sudden death at the age of fifty-two. But, the impact of the Algerian War of Independence doesn't stop there as it sucks Laurent back in when he is conscripted to join the French Army. Despite being the head of the House of Dior, Laurent enlists, only to be subjected to wide variety of medical tests that lead to illness, with tortuous means of remedy and an expulsion as Head Designer and a chance to head his own fashion house in the early 1960's, YSL.One of Yves Saint Laurent's strengths as a film is showing the relationship between our self titled character and giving audiences a glimpse into the complicated life that he and his life partner, Bergé, really had. The heart of the film is seen between Niney and Gallienne, who give great insight on the chemistry between the great minds of such a powerful fashion brand and the inner workings of business geniuses, but a poorly matched couple. While watching the film, I couldn't help but notice how tasteful and well-constructed the scenes and relationship between Bergé and Laurent is highlighted, while earlier films this year, specifically the narratively crippled James Brown biopic Get On Up hardly gives justice to the complex inner workings of the business partnership and friendship between James Brown and notoriously anonymous Bobby Byrd.I have to admit, up until the film introduces Laurent's muse Loulou de la Falaise, played by Laura Smet, I was confused, as I knew that Léa Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color) strolled the red carpet in Cannes earlier this year for her role as the infamous muse. Once I was out of the theatre and was able to check my smart phone, it became clear that indeed, Seydoux did play de la Falaise, but not in this Laurent film. Saint Laurent, the other Yves Saint Laurent film made this year, who made its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, will surely be a daunting competition for this film, seeing as it was embraced and accepted into the highest class film festival, while this Laurent film may very well be the department store version of the Laurent story.

leonblackwood Review: This movie gives an in depth look into Yves Saint Laurent life, which had its ups and downs throughout his successful career in the fashion industry. I liked the way that the director showed how he became famous after his brief take over from Christian Dior. It really does show the dark side of his life and his battle with his inner demons whilst trying to sustain his career. Pierre Berge really was the genius behind the business side of his fashion world, but when it came to the actual designing and production of his amazing clothes, you really can't fault Saint Laurent. His whole thought process was extremely unique which was noticed by Pierre, earlier on his in career. After battling through many obstacles in his life, Yves always received love from the public through his fashion which is still popular to this day. As a movie, I found it entertaining and an eye opener, into a world which I know nothing about. Enjoyable!Round-Up: I haven't heard of any of the actors in this movie before, but man, they really did do a good job. The emotion and drama throughout the movie was great and the performance by the leading actor couldn't have been played better by anyone else. His mannerism and gestures were spot on and he actually did look like Saint Laurent. I would have liked to see what had happened in his career before he sadly died in 2008 of brain cancer, but it's still a very well put together biopic. After watching the bonus features on the DVD, I saw that the real Pierre Berge helped with the move and he gave them permission to use the real clothes and shoot in Yves apartments which shows how in depth the movie really is. It would have been good to see some real footage of the man himself, but that's just me being fussy. I'm not usually one that likes movies with subtitles, but I didn't lose interest throughout the movie, which is a plus for me.Budget: €12million Worldwide Gross: $20millionI recommend this movie to people who are interested in Yves Saint Laurent and the troubled mind behind his successful career as a fashion designer. 6/10