Friday, October 15, 2010

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)

Director: Jan Kounen. Cast: Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen, Yelena Morozova. 119 min. Rated R. France. Drama.

Anna Mouglalis is a much more interesting Chanel compared to Audrey Tautou's in Coco Before Chanel of the same year, and Mad Mikkelsen has such a silent ominous presence, you expect him any moment to cry a tear of blood as he did with the James Bond villain in Casino Royale. But the main character here is neither Chanel nor Stravinsky, but his wife Katarina, a tragic figure who helplessly watches (and accepts) her marriage crumble before her eyes. Beautiful photography and an ingenious soundtrack work wonders in keeping the drama very much alive.

(Disclaimer: To enjoy this movie, know Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", nicely featured in Walt Disney's 1940 animation Fantasia.)

Mo says:

4 comments:

  1. interesting point you brought up about Stravinsky's wife. I agree ! And also about the comparison,....This Coco is much more interesting that that Coco , although I didn't like this kind of affair (I'm not Anti-affair in movies! it depends to the case !)I still admire her passion for work in her time, regardless her personal life.

    * Wikepedia:Stravinsky was reputed to have been a philanderer and was rumoured to have had affairs with high-profile partners, such as Coco Chanel. He never referred to it himself, but Chanel spoke about the alleged affair at length to her biographer Paul Morand in 1946; the conversation was published thirty years later.[96] The accuracy of Chanel's claims has been disputed by both Stravinsky's widow, Vera, and by Craft.[97] Chanel's fashion house avers there is no evidence that any affair between Chanel and Stravinsky ever occurred.[98] A fictionalization of the supposed affair formed the basis of the novel Coco and Igor (2002) and a film, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009). Despite these alleged liaisons, Stravinsky was considered a family man and devoted to his children

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    1. Thank you for the additional info. The fact that there are so many contradictory narratives about Stravinsky's love life, tells me that something must have been going on ...

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  2. Great fact ! we can use it like a quote : "The fact that [when] there are so many contradictory narratives about Stravinsky's [people ] love life, tells me that something must have been going on ..."
    ;)

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