MARIE ANTOINETTE

The thing which strikes me the most about this film (besides the amazing fashion, the champagne and the tons of cakes and macarons which, as the French would say, "me mettent l'eau à la bouche") is the feeling of intimacy with Marie Antoinette that I get. Approaching this subject in a non-epic, non-judgmental way is not usual, although this very intimate, very sensual way of filming is typical but also exclusive from Sofia Coppola. Pastel tones, a classic elegance and a very pictural photography remind me of the frivolous paintings of Fragonnard. The film got all kinds of reviews because of its non-orthodox soundtrack and atrezzo, but I love the way this is a very Pop Marie Antoinette without ever falling on any easy clichés and with a very good historical background. The film is a true hommage to the exhuberance of Versailles and its gardens, to the french definition of luxury and to the "joie de vivre" in general. Some days ago I heard Sofia Coppola is preparing her fourth film, which will be set on the infamous Chateau Marmont Hotel in California, and will tell the story of a decadent rockstar and his daughter. A plot that would seem "banale" if it was made by any other filmmaker, but with Coppola we can all expect pop culture references, a delicate approach to emotions and aesthetics, a great soudtrack and an otherworldly light. At the very least.

QUI ETES-VOUS POLLY MAGGOO?

How was the life of a supermodel in the sixties? In this film, William Klein unveils, with a crazy surrealist-inspired aesthetic, many a secret about the fashion world. It's the story of Polly, an american model living her (short) moment of glory in Paris. A team of french TV producers follow her around all day long, trying to understand the fastly evolving fashion system from Haute Couture to mass market for twig-looking teenagers, from fashion Divas (the character of the fashion editor was largely based on Diana Vreeland and earned Klein a lot of dislike in certain fashion circles) to modelstruck princes. What does a supermodel want? What does a supermodel care about? Polly is predictable and surpising at the same time. She has pretty much the dreams and problems of every girl, except she's being "manipulated" in a most particular way. And, at last, everything ends just as fast as it had begun. Those of you who have not seen it need to do it. It's definitely a "perle rare" of the sixties cinema.