Tilda Swinton gives the performance of her life as Emma, a Russian woman married into an aristocratic Milanese family who breaks free from her cosseted high society life when she begins an affair with a younger man. This personal awakening brings an unexpected tragedy that will affect all of the privileged clan as the film builds up to an intense operatic climax. The film, a seven-year labour of love for Swinton and director Guadagnino, is quite unlike anything you will see this year: a modern Douglas Sirk-style melodrama with a baroque visual elegance complemented by a sweeping, powerful score. It's a stunning, intoxicating achievement and pure cinematic indulgence. A must for a big screen experience.

Luca Guadagnino establishes himself as the real thing, a tremendously imaginative film-maker who combines minute perfectionism with phenomenal energy. I Am Love is a deeply serious film, and a seriously political one, but it's also playful, flamboyant and visually magnificent - a subtly but richly flavoured tonic for the jaded cinephile palate. Independent

5/5 An exquisite, all-enveloping feast of sensual pleasures. It's almost certainly the most elegant piece of cinema you'll see this year. The Times