Rosebush Pruning: A Dysfunctional Fashion Frenzy

Karim Aïnouz's "Rosebush Pruning" intricately weaves a tale of a wealthy, dysfunctional family residing in Catalonia, Spain. The narrative explores themes of incestuous lust and an overwhelming obsession with designer fashion, using haute couture as a lens to critique the elite.

The film, loosely based on a 1965 Italian movie, adopts an absurdist tone similar to Yorgos Lanthimos's "Dogtooth" and satirizes the wealthy like Emerald Fennell's "Saltburn." The characters' lives revolve around an excessive interest in clothing, with their modernist family home serving as the backdrop for their complex dynamics.

Costume designer Bina Daigeler, an Oscar nominee, masterfully uses fashion to illuminate the characters' extreme personalities. From the youngest son's infatuation with Versace to the eldest daughter's distorted classic brands like Chanel, each wardrobe choice amplifies the family's deconstructed nature and intense emotional states.

A surprising plot twist reveals the mother, previously believed deceased, is alive and living with her girlfriend. This revelation introduces new sartorial explorations, contrasting the mother's simple elegance with her partner's more masculine design choices, adding another layer to the film's exploration of unconventional relationships.