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
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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