Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)

Paris 1913. Coco Chanel is infatuated with the rich and handsome Boy Capel, but she is also compelled by her work. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is about to be performed. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Jan Kounen

Writers:

Chris Greenhalgh (screenplay), Chris Greenhalgh (novel),

Stars:

Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen, Elena Morozova

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Mouglalis	...	Coco Chanel
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Igor Stravinsky
Elena Morozova	...	Katarina Stravinskaya
Natacha Lindinger	...	Misia Sert
Grigori Manoukov	...	Sergey Diagilev
Rasha Bukvic	...	Grand Duke Dimitri
Nicolas Vaude	...	Ernest Beaux
Anatole Taubman	...	Arthur 'Boy' Capel
Erick Desmarestz	...	Le médecin (as Eric Desmarestz)
Clara Guelblum	...	Milena Stravinskaya
Maxime Daniélou	...	Teodor Stravinsky
Sophie Hasson	...	Ludmila Stravinskaya
Nikita Ponomarenko	...	Sulima Stravinskaya
Catherine Davenier	...	Marie
Olivier Claverie	...	Joseph

Storyline

Paris 1913. Coco Chanel is infatuated with the rich and handsome Boy Capel, but she is also compelled by her work. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is about to be performed. The revolutionary dissonances of Igor's work parallel Coco's radical ideas. She wants to democratize women's fashion; he wants to redefine musical taste. Coco attends the scandalous first performance of The Rite in a chic white dress. The music and ballet are criticized as too modern, too foreign. Coco is moved but Igor is inconsolable. Paris 1920, Coco is newly wealthy and successful but grief-stricken after Boy's death in a car crash. Igor, following the Russian Revolution is now a penniless refugee living in exile in Paris. Coco is introduced to Igor by Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes. The attraction between them is instant and electric. Coco invites Igor along with his wife - now sick with consumption - together with his four children and a menagerie of birds to stay at her new villa, Bel ...

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Plot Keywords:

ballet | russian | 1920s | fashion | lust | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Sony Classics [us]

Country:

France Japan Switzerland

Language:

French Russian English

Release Date:

30 December 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Coco & Igor

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£52,874 (UK) (6 August 2010)

Gross:

$1,724,882 (USA) (15 October 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eurowide Film Production, Hexagon Pictures, Filmazure

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released virtually concurrently with Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel with Audrey Tautou. Both films were released in the US by Sony Classics.

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Goofs

While the film presents the premiere of "The Rite of Spring" as if it took place in the beginning of the program for the evening, in fact it was preceded by another ballet, titled "Les Sylphides". "The Rite of Spring" was second on the program.

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Soundtracks

"Five Easy Pieces"
Music by Igor Stravinsky
Published by Chester Music Limited et Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG
Interpreted by Christophe Bukudjian

User Reviews

A mixture of Chanel No. 5 and the music of Stravinsky

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky: A mixture of Chanel No. 5 and the music of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring". It depicts a love story between two geniuses: madness, passion, pain and aesthetics. With her beauty and her deep voice, Anna Mouglalis embodies her character with grace and talent. She's truly sublime. The cast is very good, and it is beautifully filmed, full of gorgeous details. The historical reconstruction is also almost perfect.

Although this film is quite different from Kounen's previous movies, it is primarily a film which is qualitatively very solid. One of the most memorable sequences of the film is the moment when, after a short sequence introducing Coco Chanel, we watch the famous sequence of the Rite of Spring. Although you cannot compare Stravinsky with Kounen, this sequence refers in a way to the reaction he got with some of his previous films: adored by some and totally rejected by others. After this sequence, we enter directly in the plot that tightens the relationship between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. Through this story of feverish passion and this both intense and particular relationship, Kounen questions the turmoil of creation and thus plunges us into the intimacy of two of the most influential figures of their time, each being on the verge of achieving something extreme in their work (fashion/perfume, and avant-garde music). A very interesting film that demonstrate that Kounen has the ability to capture a new subject: not really a biopic, more a tale of an intense passion and confusion. The question remains whether this film is a parenthesis in his career or a new development.