Coco Before Chanel is a film that gets progressively better, as it tells the story of the love life and career of the budding designer, and culminates in a spectacular scene of models wearing real Chanel fashion from the archives.
09-15-09: Alessandro Nivola is hot hot hot as “Boy” Capel, the love of Coco Chanel’s life
Expert storyteller Nivola grew a thick moustache for his character and recounted how he was approached during the Paris shoot by guys who thought he resembled Freddie Mercury. He learned how to play polo for the role. His grandfather was the Sardinian sculptor, Constantino Nivola, and his wife, actress Emily Mortimer called his cell phone during our group interview.
09-15-09: Director Anne Fontaine is a most elegant and well-spoken director
By her carriage, it’s no surprise that Fontaine was a model and dancer. She was not upset to learn that Nivola had lied to her about knowing French in their initial conversation, something he confessed to us earlier. Her reaction was that “it takes energy to not be in reality, a good quality for an actor.”
Tautou didn’t want her photo taken, but she was very petite and was looking strikingly like the fashion designer. Her eyes were almost black and she was generous with facial expressions. She attributed her earthy quality to being from the country, the provinces of France. Concurrently, she is the “face” of Chanel No. 5 ads, an interesting combination of art and business.
03-10-09: Varda runs towards Varick Street, leaving journalists and photographers in her wake.
Agnes Varda is not a shy violet, but she was dressed in purple from head-to-toe when I interviewed her during the “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema” series in March. She was self-posessed, recalcitrant, and somewhat belligerent. When a few of us went outside Film Forum to get photos of her, she dashed through traffic across Houston Street and then ran towards Varick, leaving us behind as she searched for the perfect backdrop (which didn’t exist).
03-10-09: Varda close up
I interviewed the director on her new film, The Beaches of Agnes, for a magazine and also for a newspaper feature. Did I mention that I think she’s the greatest? I wrote in my feature:
As a rare female filmmaker working since the 1950s, Varda has no counterpart in the United States. She says, “There were other women working in film in France when I began, but I was the first to fight for a new kind of cinema. I pushed other women to join. Now we have more. There are many directors and editors. Not only that, but mixing and sound ladies. I pushed them. I said, ‘Learn! Don’t say it’s difficult for women!’”
At the BAMcinemaFEST last night, I met effervesent Ry Russo-Young, director of “You Won’t Miss Me,” starring Stella Schnabel as a troubled, aspiring actress.
Super 8, Super 16, HD, Digital Video, and Flipcam—proficiently wielded by cinematographer Kitao Sakurai—evoke different psychological states. This could be a primer on wringing moods out of film formats.
06-23-09: Director Ry Russo-Young outside BAM
No matter that it won the grand prize and garnered critical praise. I’m just high on Jacques Audiard right now. His films are bursting with the guts of life. I often think of his 1995 The Beat My Heart Skipped, and not just because hottie star Romain Duris does a virtual strip over the course of the film.
Beat was a remake of James Toback’s 1978 music-and-crime drama, Fingers, and I got to see the two directors together at the French Institute in 1996 on the occasion of an Audiard retrospective, which included my other faves, A Self-Made Hero and Read My Lips.
This is what auteurs are for. You love their work and can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.
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