Brunello: The Gracious Visionary
Written by Anthony “Ant” Johnson

Is there such a thing as a perfect life? If such a thing exists, what’s the criteria for perfection? Don’t worry, these questions are rhetorical. However, days after screening the Italian documentary, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, about the life of Italian luxury clothing designer Brunello Cucinelli, these are questions I now ponder. After seeing this film, the impossibilities of perfection seem possible.

Brunello is a fantastical time travel into a man’s life of humble beginnings in the small village, Solomeo, located in Umbria, Italy. This is a documentary — directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the Oscar winner behind Cinema Paradiso — that very much plays like a narrative, and that’s for a number of reasons. For one, Brunello’s life is literally recreated on screen along with the present-day Brunello physically present narrating his life. As a huge fan of documentaries, I’ve never seen a film shot in this way. Imagine being able to walk back in time in your life as an observer. Although, unlike Marty McFly, Brunello is not there to change one single second. He’s there to show an appreciation of his life, everyone and everything that has crossed his path.

It’s obvious that the same care and attention to detail applied to starting his company has been applied to this film. With a company born from a singular focus on cashmere pullovers and the notion that humanity should prevail over profit every day, Brunello Cucinelli has built perfection, or at least so it seems on screen. The cinematography — shot by Fabio Zamarion — is exquisite and many of the visuals could easily be in an art museum. Either there or one of Brunello’s luxury stores, heck why choose, let’s go with both. Even muted colors come across as bold and intriguing. Life lessons are sewn into the film with the same care as his garment makers and I dare not share them here and ruin the experience.

As great as all of this sounds, I will, however, have to ruin your hopes for a perfect film. The very premise of life itself is imperfect, and that portion of Brunello’s life is absent in the documentary. Reflecting on this conclusion, I couldn’t help being haunted by the words spoken by Brunello’s wife in the film, where she states, “he always gets what he wants.” I’d imagine this would apply to this project. Parking my jaded lenses on life for a second, this could also be received as an artistic interpretation of his life with the intent to encourage and inspire anyone who dares to dream. Putting jaded shades back on.

My Verdict: And so, we’re back where we started, is it possible to have a perfect life? Not in my world, I’ve seen and heard too much. In Brunello, a man’s life is portrayed as flawless, which is the very reason why this is not a flawless film. After all, this is a biographical documentary. Nevertheless, this is a minor infraction and I still believe in the pursuit of perfection especially when it speaks to being a responsible citizen to the world and leaving a legacy known as a devout steward to what you’ve been granted with your time on this place we call earth. Over 25 years ago, one of the partners from my first job out of college shared a list for the keys to success and I only remember one which is “be brilliant on the basics.” This film reminds me of that and serves it well. The ingredients while simple are of high quality and oftentimes that’s all it takes or at least according to Gordon Ramsay. Brunello is a solid 8/10. That is my honest recommendation. I stand by it.

Ant’s Score: 8/10