‘Bones and All’ director defends Quentin Tarantino’s foot fetish

Luca Guadagnino, because everyone needs a foot friend.

Guadagnino has made a name for himself in Hollywood for his quirky romantic dramas, often leaning into off-kilter characters and a general sense of irreverence. Fittingly, he’s channeled the same off-kilter energy to defend the much-memed foot fetish of Tarantino. The Italian filmmaker was probed on working with the eccentric filmmaker, and gave probably the most interesting defence of him you’ll find.

Speaking to Moviemaker about both his cannibal romance flick Bones and All and his documentary Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams about Salvatore Ferragamo, things descended quick into the politics of feet and podophilia. Guadagnino believed Ferragamo definitely had a foot fetish

“I think he had a ion for feet, a fetish for feet, in a way. There was something about it that was obsessive for him, to the degree that when he was just a little kid he was making shoes for his sister. He probably unconsciously felt that the shoe was an actual memento of importance for a person.”

Asked about Tarantino, he gives a deeply diplomatic answer where he believes people are intentionally working themselves up over the scandal of an alleged foot fetish. Guadagnino believes we’re all too conservative when addressing foot fetishes.

“It’s a beautiful question and it may lead me to be a little bit polemic. Truthfully, the majority is always wrong. Let’s face it. There is a sort of comfortability in pretending to be easily scandalized as a majority. It might be the fear of being seen that makes people take these positions. But I think that, in a way, it’s irrelevant at the end of the day, because Quentin’s movies are super successful. People love them for the kinds of obsessions that Quentin plays out in his movies. And shoemaking is one of the most important pillars of the fashion industry. No matter how parochial people can be, they’re not going to have success in that.”

Bones and All is set for a widespread cinematic release on Nov. 18, with early reviews suggesting another hit from the Call Me by Your Name director.