Victoria's Secret: The Tour '23 (2023)

Victoria's Secret: The Tour '23 (2023)

An aesthetic object so fine, it doesn't need anything below the surface

6.8

Movie

United Kingdom, United States of America
English
Documentary
2023
CRISTINA SÁNCHEZ SALAMANCA, KORTY EO
Adriana Lima, Adwoa Aboah, Candice Swanepoel
95 min

TLDR

At last, some Victoria's Secret without the angel wings.

What it's about

The famed lingerie brand commissions local artists from four cities around the world to bring their unique visions of femininity and womanhood to the table.

The take

I'm still stuck between calling The Tour 23 a clever marketing trick or a feast for the senses. Contradictions have always nested at the heart of the brand, between beauty and its toxic standards, so it's self-aware of them to highlight that in an audience-facing film. It's undeniable that the VS shows have held spectacle in high regard and cultivated a fanbase that outnumbers the actual consumers, but this film will feel like a treat even if you don't care for luxury wear. Even more, it's perhaps a bit too likable: it's lush without being kitschy, it's woke without the overt politics, it's fun, but not a joke, and most of all, it brings us closer to the visions of creators from around the world who have so much more to give than what they've given Victoria's Secret.

What stands out

We're here for the glitz and the glam—lingerie, extravagant looks, and iconic models—but the real star of the show is... the set! The Xavier Corberó Centre in Barcelona is at once ancient and futuristic with its many colonnades, pillars, arches, and corridors which serve as a runway. Architecture becomes the main character as hard, naked concrete contrasts with exuberant designs blending the natural with the fantastic. Enhancing the use of a single location, the camera adjusts accordingly to each collection presented to us: handheld to fit the more grounded ones, and shaky handheld to underscore the experimental nature of the rest. The set comes alive to serve a canon of beauty, reconsidered.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Beales of Grey Gardens (2006)

The titular witty old money outcasts are remembered in the unreleased footage of the classic American documentary

7.2

Turtles Can Fly (2005)

A realistic and well-made Kurdish drama that’s absolutely devastating

8.0

MoviePass, MovieCrash (2024)

An enlightening study of how one of the fastest-growing subscription services came undone through racial bias and corporate greed

7.2

The Final: Attack on Wembley (2024)

Focused and descriptive accounts of the UEFA Euro 2020 anarchy at Wembley Stadium

7.0

Print It Black (2024)

It tells a worthy story, but this documentary about the Uvalde mass shooting buckles under the weight of its ambitions

6.9

You Cannot Kill David Arquette (2020)

Actor David Arquette is too unhinged for Hollywood, too Hollywood for pro wrestling

7.5

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (2024)

A mesmerizing Pixar-like film about pure, utter friendship

8.5

Terrorizers (1986)

Three couples search for truth in this fascinating jigsaw puzzle of modern urban living

7.7

Hail Satan? (2019)

Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple

8.0

La Femme Nikita (1990)

Luc Besson crafts one of film’s most iconic femme fatales in this stylish spy thriller

7.3

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.