Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams

It’s a perfect summation of Ferragamo’s career, a harmonious union of craftsmanship and showbiz.

“Salvatore” is a pleasure for anyone who loves shoes and/or good movies.

With great flair and storytelling skill, Guadagnino shows the single-minded drive that made this innovator immortal.

Guadagnino’s documentary is very much like walking through an immersive and interactive museum designed to make one feel nostalgic for a bygone era of art and craft. It’s magical stuff.

Guadagnino’s carefully and lovingly detailed history lesson, free of stylistic flourishes, is as satisfying and methodical as that red shoe–making.

Even if he couldn’t summon the experience of walking in Ferragamo’s shoes and getting to know him deeply, Guadagnino makes one appreciate the shoemaker’s indelible footprints from afar.

The film is best when hearing Ferragamo, who died in 1960, tell his own story through archived audio and home movies.

Not much more than an ad for the House of Ferragamo.

It's difficult not to fall under the glamorous sway of the stars who wore Ferragamo's shoes: Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn among them.

“Salvatore" is a loving and insightful film about the life and career of the celebrated Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo, who revolutionized the shoe inside and out.