Tag: sofia coppola

This, Madame, is Versailles. “Marie Antoinette” (2006)

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directed by Sofia Coppola
© 2006 Sony Pictures Releasing. All Rights Reserved.

I have a very difficult viewer-director relationship with Sofia Coppola. On the one hand, there are several film by her that I enjoyed, but on the other there are those, which I wouldn’t like to see again. Ever again. So it’s like a roulette that I actually like playing. “Marie Antoinette” is one of those productions that I’ve seen at least three times, I believe. As you might be guessing from the obvious title, it’s about Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst), a queen of France. We get to follow her life from the moment when she was sent to marry the Dauphin of France (Jason Schwartzman), the one who became king Louis XVI a bit later. Thanks to that marriage, France and Austria sealed an alliance. And back then nobody cared about feelings, romance or compatibility. Nah. Back then daughters and sons were used for political reasons. Therefore young Marie Antoinette moves to France and starts living in Versailles, where she has to learn very French and very specific rules. But that’s not her only problem. You see, back then it was expected that right after marriage, the couple will have children. Preferably right away. And preferably boys, who were much more useful. Once again – politics. Marie Antoinette, however, had problems with getting closer to her husband and obviously nobody blamed him, so the girl felt this horrible pressure, as if living in Versailles wasn’t enough. Personally, I get back to this film because I like how they presented the character of Marie. It’s not a serious production, during which you have to be drinking litres of coffee to stay awake. It’s actually an unusual comedy, full of adorable jokes and gags, which also reminds us that Marie was just a teenager, completely lost in that political world. So even though the story looks pleasant, its messages aren’t anyhow close to that. And that’s why I’m recommending you this film. One of Sofia’s best works for sure.

My rating: 6/10
S.

Girls just wanna have fun. “The Beguiled” (2017)

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directed by Sofia Coppola
© 2017 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

Honestly speaking, I’m not a huge fan of Sofia Coppola’s film. They are rather quite average for me, so I was pretty sure this one will not be my thing either. Okay, I’m not rating it 10/10, but it has something intriguing in the story and how it’s presented, so I guess I need to recommend it to you. If you know Sofia Coppola’s (I need to add her first name to be sure you’re not taking her for her father) films, you probably know who’s in the cast. Of course it’s Kristen Dunst! Which isn’t a bad thing because Dunst is awesome, but you can tell those two ladies are incredibly good partners in business. I’m surprised Dunst didn’t play in “Lost in Translation” (2003), for which Sofia Coppola got her, so far, only Oscar. And it was an Oscar for the best original screenplay. Not directing, which should be a hint I guess. Anyway, today’s film is set during the American Civil War. One day a wounded Union soldier is found by a girl in the forest. She decides to help him and bring him to her school. The school full of girls. Middle of nowhere, a house full of young single women, a handsome soldier arrival. I think you know what’s about to happen. The ladies agree to keep the man at their school and help him recover. During that time, each one of them gets a bit too close to their guest. I believe this film was made to show the times of the war from the female perspective. For me it was slightly feministic, because those women, despite their natural needs, were trying to unite and support each other. And definitely not let the man dominate them. Besides, in the book, which this film was based on, there was a black female slave, which Sofia Coppola decided to replace with a white actress (Dunst btw). She did so because she didn’t want to present African Americans that way to young ladies who were about to see her film. The film is beautiful as a picture and the acting of Nicole Kidman isn’t that annoying as always. You may also see Elle Fanning there (who is quite popular nowadays). And, ladies, Colin Farrell is the soldier. Not sure if it’s tempting, but he’s actually not bad here. Go for it.

My rating: 6/10
S.