Going To The Movies: Coco Avant Chanel
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After seeing Audrey Tautou as Amelie Poulien two night ago, last night I felt compelled to see yet againg Coco Avant Chanel, one of my all time favourite movies. Don't listen to Karl Lagerfeld, he knows less than Jon Snow, no-one can be a better Coco than Audrey, not even Keira Knightley. Especially Keira Knightley. Because no English woman, no matter how pretty, delicate and artistic she is can play Gabriel "Coco" Chanel better than the exquisite French actress that lives and breathes the same effortless, timeless French elegance as Coco.
Enough with the raid, to the movie, please!
It tells the story of who Gabriel Channel was before she became the fashion icon and visionary we all know and love. From working in a bar, to being a hat seamstress to moving in, without an invitation, in the mansion of Baron Balsan. It is actually the story of Balsan and Coco, a story between something like love but more like mutual use for the good of them both. It is also the love story of Coco and her mission to liberate fashion for women - to make it comfortable in a very chic way. And it's the tragic love story of Coco and the Englishman Arthur Capel, the man who felt inlove with her and believed in her, but broke her heart twise. First by marring a woman in London for her money. Afterwords they remained lovers and his untimely death in car accident was "the single most devastating event" in her lifetime, breaking her hear forever. It feels and looks real, it looks exactly as it should, and if you're anything like me, you'll tear up a little bit at the final scene. Because greatness comes with a price. And it's usually one's most dearest possession - their heart.
For me, this is not only a fashion movie and a biography, it is also a very feminist movie, portraying Chanel as the strong, independent woman she was. Audrey Tautou is amazing in the role, a true incarnation of the timeless Coco in her specific beauty of a very special woman. Hands down, a movie that only the French cinematography can make!
Grade: 8/10
You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...
