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May 30, 2018 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment FILM REVIEW: ‘The Gospel According to André’ Chronicles Career of Flamboyant Fashionista By Kam Williams For The Skanner News A ndré Leon Talley was born on Oc- tober 16, 1949 in Washington, DC, but raised in Durham, NC by his maternal grandmother, Bennie Davis. Even though she was a housekeeper who scrubbed floors at Duke University to keep a roof over their heads, she was also aristocratic in the highest sense of the word. Through Mamie, An- dré cultivated the val- ues and sense of dignity which would serve him well once he made his way out of the Jim Crow South. For, after earning his BA at North Caroli- na Central University and an MA at Brown in French, he headed to New York City to begin what would be an in- comparable career in the world of fashion. That impressive ac- complishment is chron- icled in very compelling fashion in “The Gospel According to André,” an intimate retrospective directed by Kate Novack (“Eat This New York”). A profusion of pop icons pay homage to the flam- boyant fashionista in the biopic, including will.i.am, supermodel Is- abella Rossellini, design- er Diane von Fursten- berg and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, who kisses his hand. However, the cameos pale in comparison to André’s own reveal- ing account of how he overcame his modest roots with the help of his mentor, doyenne Di- ana Vreeland, as well as Andy Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld and Vogue ed- itor-in-chief Anna Win- tour. We learn that he arrived in the Big Apple a diamond-in-the-rough, given how he’d been ap- preciating style since childhood. He explains that he’d been treated to a weekly fashion show by the la- dies in his church’s con- gregation. While many of these proud black women might have toiled as lowly domestic ser- vants during the week, they would invariably arrive decked out on Sunday. André’s thirst for haute couture was further whetted by mag- azines like W and Vogue which enabled him to mentally escape the lim- itations of life in racist North Carolina to a fan- tasy universe filled with pleasant and beautiful pictures. On his way up the lad- der, the 6’ 6” tall trailblaz- er studiously avoided the traps of drugs and indis- criminate sexual liaisons that destroyed the future of so many others in the ‘70s and ‘80s. André does confess to being a regu- lar on Studio 54’s dance floor, but he just never participated in any of the self-destructive behav- ior. Instead, he parlayed successes at the Met- ropolitan Museum of Art, Warhol’s Interview magazine and Women’s Wear Daily into a gig as Vogue’s Fashion News Director. In that capac- ity, he became a fixture on the front row of lead- ing runway shows, cut- ting an imposing figure in his signature flowing capes. And what sage advice does the trendsetting André have to offer to- day? “Fashion is fleet- ing. Style remains. Cre- ate your own universe, and share it with peo- ple you re- spect and love. Beau- ty comes in many forms. It could be a flower. it could be a gesture.” P re c i o u s pearls of wisdom, in- deed, from a legendary gentle giant. Excellent HHHH Rated PG-13 for mature themes and some suggestive content In French with subti- tles Running time: 95 Kam Williams Movie Previews at Award winning movie crit ic Revealing celebrity s interview NEW MOVIES OPENING EVERY WEEK! Wenders cont’d from pg 6 and new attitude to- wards nature and “our Sister Mother Earth,” as he called our planet tenderly, as well as for a strong stance in cre- ating peace among the religions. No pope had ever dared to address that legacy, and adopt- ing the name of Fran- cis meant nothing less. From the beginning, Pope Francis made it clear that he’s willing to stand up for all these issues and take them all utterly seriously. KW: How were you able to gain access to him? WW: That came along with the invitation. You know, it would not have crossed my mind to make a film with Pope Francis, if the Vatican hadn’t approached me, asking if I’d be open to discussing that very task. All filmmakers prob- ably take it for granted that this would be an impossible thing to ask, so they don’t even ask. I guess that’s why Dario Viganò, at the time Prefect of the Secretar- iat for Communication, wrote that letter to me, asking me if I could imagine making a film about Pope Francis, and if I could possibly come by and talk about it. I was flabbergasted, yes, but I definitely could imagine it, yes, as well. When we then talked, it became clear that he meant a film that I would develop on my own, that we would have to find in- dependent financing for, [no, this is not a Vatican production] that I could indeed shoot with access to Pope Francis, and that I would also have full ac- cess to the Vatican’s ar- chives. And finally, that this should be entirely my film, and that the Vatican was not going to interfere with it. How could I resist? KW: How much travel- ing did you do with him? WW: I only shot the long interviews sessions with Pope Francis, the re-enactments involving Saint Francis, and every- thing around the city of Assisi. Traveling along would have completely blown up our small and modest budget. For all the travel footage, I had access to the Vatican ar- chive and to the footage produced by the two re- ally great cameramen who follow Pope Francis on all his journeys. And we used footage from TV stations from all over the world as well. KW: Did you find his dedication to the poor to be authentic? WW: No question about it, definitely. He lives and impersonates this dedication. And he makes it clear that he’s not just asking us to consider getting by with less, he does show how it can be done, giving an example by refusing to live in the luxurious apartment where all his predecessors lived and by refusing to drive in big limousines. His mod- esty and humble appear- ance are not a show. He is that person and doesn’t have to fake his dedica- tion to and affection for the poor. It is genuine, and he proved that al- ready, from when he was a young priest and then a bishop. KW: Do you think that he has raised the bar for popes in terms of follow- ing in Christ’s footsteps? WW: Yes. By follow- ing the example of Saint Francis, who did the very same in his time, really revitalizing the figure of Christ back then. Many thousands of young men soon fol- lowed him. Read more of this interview at TheSkanner.com
