The First Monday in May

Andrew Rossi's documentary on the creation of the 2015 “China: Through the Looking Glass” exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art—and the simultaneous annual Met Gala—may have been conceived as a tribute to good taste and impeccable style, but it comes across as a grueling portrait of self-importance, ego, and vanity. Part of the film is devoted to efforts by Andrew Bolton, curator of the museum's Costume Institute, to mount an exhibit on Chinese-inspired Western fashions. Unfortunately, Bolton and his team are often oblivious to blatant cultural insensitivities—most egregiously in his plan to feature Mao-inspired fashions in a gallery devoted to Buddhist art. Surprisingly, few experts on Chinese fashion and culture are brought in for assistance, and while filmmaker Wong Kar Wai is hired as a consultant, he ends up having relatively little input. While all this is happening, Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour plans the Met Gala, a fundraising event that brings out scores of celebrities who vamp on the red carpet in outlandish gowns. Wintour (who was parodied by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada) comes across as unintentionally funny, due to her imperious demeanor. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include an interview with director Andrew Rossi (22 min.), deleted scenes (18 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing documentary.] (P. Hall)