Monday, June 22, 2020

The Stories about Music Films: 13. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)


Basic Info

Title: Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Language: French/English
Running time: 118 minutes
Release date: 24 May 2009 (Cannes), 30 December 2009 (France)

Staff

Director: Jan Kounen
Producer: Chris Bolzli, Claudie Ossard
Written by: Chris Greenhalgh
Music: Gabriel Yared
Cinematography: David Ungaro
Edited by: Anne Danché

Cast

Mads Mikkelsen as Igor Stravinsky
Anna Mouglalis as Coco Chanel
Elena Morozova as Catherine Stravinsky
Natacha Lindinger as Misia Sert
Grigori Manoukov as Sergei Diaghilev
Rasha Bukvic as Grand Duke Dmitri
Nicolas Vaude as Ernest Beaux
Anatole Taubman as Boy Capel
Marek Kossakowski as Vaslav Nijinsky
Jérôme Pillement as Pierre Monteux

Summary


Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky” is a 2009 French romantic drama film directed by Jan Kounen. The film was selected as the Closing Film of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was shown on May 24, 2009The film is based on 2002 fictional novel "Coco and Igor" by Chris Greenhalgh and traces a rumored affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky in Paris in 1920, the year the Chanel No. 5 was created.

Plot


The film begins with the attendance of Coco Chanel at the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's “The Rite of Spring", which was a scandalous performance, in Paris in 1913. In this performance, the rhythmic and harmonic dissonance of the music and the surprising choreography of the work provoke the heckling and outrage of many audiences, but Chanel is impressed by Stravinsky and his music.

Seven years later, Chanel and Stravinsky meet again. Although her business flourished, Chanel was grieved by the death of her lover Arthur "Boy" Capel, and Stravinsky decided to flee to France after the Russian Revolution. At this time, Chanel and Stravinsky feel sympathy and charm each other.

Chanel invites Stravinsky to live with his sick wife and children in her villa outside Paris, after which the two begin an inappropriate affair. As a result, tensions between Stravinsky and his wife, and his wife and Chanel are escalated.

The film suggests that the affair, which was later ended by Chanel, had a significant influence on the lives of both Chanel and Stravinsky. During this period, Chanel creates Chanel No. 5 with her perfumer, Ernest Beaux and Stravinsky starts composing in a new and more liberated style. While living at the villa, he devotes himself to revising The Rite of Spring.

One of the last scenes in the film shows the revival of this work with new choreography, showing that it was an artistic victory and recognized as a masterpiece.

Movie Review


Wonderful”
A Masterpiece of Cinematography”
A mixture of Chanel No. 5 and the music of Stravinsky”
Must-see”
Two different cultures”
Two Passions, Condensed”

Interesting stories about the film


1. The ballet "The Rite of Spring", which premiered on May 29, 1913, portrayed in the film, is rarely performed as a ballet today and used as a concert piece for orchestras. Also, Nijinsky's original choreography has disappeared.
2. Chanel and the former chief designer of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, supported the production of the film by allowing access to Chanel's archives and the apartments in which Chanel lived.
3. The lead actress, Anna Mouglalis, has actually appeared in several Chanel advertising campaigns.
4. The film was released almost concurrently with the 2009 film "Coco avant Chanel," directed by Anne Fontaine and starring Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel.

Thank you.






No comments:

Post a Comment

75th Live Broadcast of “Pops Lounge” in TBN Ulsan Traffic Broadcasting Network (November 7, 2023)

  How are you? I had 75th live broadcast of “Pops Lounge” today in TBN Ulsan Traffic Broadcasting Network ’s “Studio1041” .  Today&#...