just saw this yesterday at BFI southbank in london and it was exhilarating. the rest of the audience loved it too. very moving and at times also surprisingly quite funny - although i'd argue that most of the comedy is unintentional, some of john's moments and testimonies are just pure OTT. you can tell john is a born performer and even his answers now still bear a trace of that love for performance and acting, which in many ways was conditioned by a strict catholic upbringing.
his visit to the dior archives towards the end, where he reconnects with members of the atelier is so sweet. one woman tells him how much they miss him at the house and always think of him, telling him she will "see him soon". sidney and john have made amends after many years, which is good to hear. sidney actually features quite prominently in the collection, as do archive interviews with arnault after john's departure.
it seems john has forgiven himself too but at times i still don't think he understands the gravity of what he said or did. but the documentary makes a point of emphasising how much work he's done in penance. taking courses in understanding jewish history; reading books on the holocaust; meeting with rabbis, jewish leaders, psychiatrists and addiction experts to understand how or why he said what he said.
his redemptive journey does seem, at face, very genuine - that's as long as you don't ask philippe virgitti, the asian man he attacked at one of several incidents la perle and who believes john
is a racist, despite showing him mercy at a trial. john still has a foggy memory of the events in question. he sometimes takes the events a bit lightly, with a slight twinkle in his eye, and has to be remembered by lexy (his boyfriend - alexis roche, who is actually very sweet) what truly happened, which is when the shame and guilt seemingly returns.
there are some great moments with amanda harlech, who features in the documentary and who i truly believe - along with andre leon talley - is the unsung hero in john's career. the documentary provides more context to the collapse of her and john's professional relationship after the move to dior, which is attributed to both steven robinson and the house's alleged reluctance to pay her more than they were willing.
the loss of steven robinson looms large and the documentary makes a point of framing it as a pivotal moment in john's life. upon his visit to the dior archives, he is reminded of steven's memory by les petites mains and this counts as the only time in the whole documentary where he gets visibly very emotional. at times, it made me very emotional too. his comments notwithstanding, this is a man who has paid his dues and whose rehabilitation is desperately needed if fashion is to remain exciting and relevant.
his rehabilitation is certainly something that seems as though it was meticulously planned by fashion's higher powers. anna wintour is a key figure in this plan, as is the coterie of models and celebrities that have supported and continue to love john, such as kate moss, charlize theron and penelope cruz. at one point, naomi campbell admits she hasn't watched the video of john that circulated - in which he drunkenly professes his love for hitler. she is adamant she knows john on a deeper level and that he is not that person. a more cyncial viewer might question whether that is true or whether her steadfast loyalty to the man is colouring her judgement.
the documentary features recurring footage from abel gance's 1927 film napoléon - a film john was obsessed with and influenced by from a very early age - which is interspersed throughout the documentary, mirroring key points in galliano's life and career. kevin macdonald draws obvious parallels between bonaparte and galliano, men who experienced a meteoric rise, ruled paris for a time, and then burned out spectacularly.
john finds kevin's insistence on the parallels with napoleon funny, but for the audience the allusions are obvious. john is a born showman, and the closest thing that fashion has ever had, or will have, to napoleon. he is a visionary and a genius. a once-in-a-generation talent who is clearly still admired and revered by fashion's elite. he is - along with mcqueen - my personal hero, and i came out of this documentary loving and appreciating him much more than i already did.
he's lived an extraordinary life and had an even more extraordinary career, so i'm excited to see where he's headed to next.
