For over ten years now, the brand Miu Miu has decided to commission two short films each year, focused on themes related to femininity in the 21st century. One for the launch of the winter collection – presented at the Venice Days of the Venice International Film Festival – and one for the launch of the summer collection, typically presented at New York Fashion Week. Artists such as Agnes Varda, Miranda July, Lynne Ramsay, Alice Rohrwacher, Dakota Fanning, and Mati Diop – among others – have taken on the direction of these films, often with exceptional results, like Les 3 Boutons (Varda, 2015) or Somebody (July, 2014). Apart from the obligation to wear Miu Miu clothing, it is obvious how the brand gives complete stylistic and narrative freedom to the directors, which certainly allows for interesting games.
The case of the latest film, MIU MIU WOMEN’S TALE #27 is once again proof of this. Directed by Malaysian filmmaker Tan Chui Mui, “I am the beauty of your beauty. I am the fear of your fear” – now available on Mubi – tells the story of a young Chinese woman in Malaysia who embarks on a journey of self-discovery, devoted not only to coming to terms with her past, identity, and present in a foreign land but also to physically and spiritually developing through strict training. Martial art transitions from a self-defense technique to an almost epiphanic and undoubtedly cathartic tool, within a a sisterhood atmosphere described through grips, muscles, sweat, and the blood of the fights. An exploration of female self-defense as a metaphorical and physical tool to fight the numerous struggles in which it is put to the test, in various ways.
Director Tan Chui Mui, rather prolific and best known for her debut feature film Love Conquers All, which received a Tiger Award at the 37th Rotterdam Film Festival, focuses here on the preparation of a group of women for the “Fight Night”, in which they will fight against men.
It cannot be said that the work is not beautiful. The direction is perfect, everything is impeccable. But there is something fundamentally discordant. We never seem to be able to distance ourselves from the idea that what we are seeing is not cinema, but advertising. And a more subtle form of the same, because hidden. Marketing disguised as art. And there is something inherently wrong with it. The Miu Miu label stands out on every garment, even more so. And we cannot forget that every character, as realistic, intense, wonderfully portrayed, and believable as they may be, serves to send a message that is not only about female social redemption but also about buying Miu Miu clothing to achieve that female social redemption and build the skills of a strong and independent woman. And this is unforgivable. The fact that advertising rises to something higher than a simple commercial is normal, and in the era we live in now, it is obviously acceptable, or rather welcome. But for cinema to lower itself to advertising is absolutely unacceptable. So, we find ourselves asking why artists of this caliber have agreed to this operation, which sadly underlies a tendency in our consumer society.
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