Saint Laurent – Film Review

Saint Laurent is a French biographical film that is based on the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and was shown at the 26^th Alliance Française French Film Festival this year in Canberra.

The dialogue in the film is spoken in French with English subtitles. There were some parts of the film that were in English when there are business meetings discussing Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) as a product internationally.

The film is set primarily in the 1960s and 1970s and explores the life of Laurent from his relationships, personal life including his substance abuse, as well as his impact on the fashion industry.  Saint Laurent shows the creativity and imagination of a fashion designer throughout his life until he is an old man.

Many of the scenes in the film are fast paced making some story of the story feel like it’s being rushed . Some parts of the film have continuous montages of scenes throughout the 1970s containing stunning visuals that sums up Laurent’s work in the industry throughout that decade. The film contains montages and often the screen splits into different parts to show what’s happening at different times in the film. This makes this particular film distinct from others because this technique is rarely seen in film.

Towards the ending of the film there are scenes where Laurent is old that are shown alongside the scenes of his younger self. The audience doesn’t become confused because Laurent was a distinct character who was always the focus of the film. Saint Laurent is a unique foreign film that delivers an impressive interpretation to the audience of Yves Saint Laurent and his career. If you’re interested in films that are biographical or about the fashion industry it is definitely worth checking out.