kerouac

This is for those of you who are in Paris already or are planning a trip in the next month or so. If you are planning on going to Versailles, it would behoove you to see the Sofia Coppola film "Marie Antoinette" which is now playing in France. It will not be released in the United States until mid-October. As it was filmed in the château and on the grounds, it will really change the way you see Versailles when you visit it. As for the artistic merits of the movie, it is somewhat too long, but Kirsten Dunst gives a very original vision very much unlike how we always imagined Marie Antoinette to be. Details of court protocol are also a hoot.

Christina

I don't think it's Kirsten Dunst's vision at all, but Sophia Coppola's. It is original, which may mean fictional. However, I'm sure I'll see it eventually because I did like Lost in Translation.

so, I heard there were lots of boos at the screening.

Toupary

I believe Sophia Coppola based her production in great part on the Antonia Fraser biography, which is excellent. We'll see how closely she stuck to it.

starrsville

The film was boo'd at Cannes.

starrsville

Ooops! Sorry. Christina already said that.

SeaUrchin

did any article say why it was booed?
It sounds good to me and people accept other fictional works.

chicagolori

I have been eagerly awaiting this movie release since I have read numerous bio's of MA. My husband heard on NPR that the French critics booed because they did not want an American interpreting French history. Otherwise, it evidently was considered a good movie.

I read elsewhere that if you like Sophia Coppola movies, you will like this one and vice versa. I am in the camp of liking her movies a lot and with this subject, I will run to the opening no matter what the critics say from any country.

Sadly, I will have to wait for the US release in the fall...

starrsville

Well, they giggled at The DaVinci Code and it had the second largest opening weekend in history. Perhaps Sofia will be so lucky. The scenery should be amazing - and I like Kirsten Dunst.

kerouac

The screening to the critics was booed but the screening for the public was applauded. In the sold out show that I saw in Paris, I would say the public had mixed reactions.

chicagolori

Kerouac - did Jason Schwartzman pull off the Louis IV role ok? At first I couldn't see him doing it but I just saw him in Shopgirl and now I can sort of get it.

bookchick

topping for lori

Scarlett

I read that no one liked it

I can see Jason Schwartzman as a young Louis in need of a shampoo, but Kirsten Dunst? I dunno...
I will probably still see it though

chicagolori

Scarlett - did you see shopgirl? It was the first time I saw him in a movie and I was pleasantly surprised.

I am with you on the Kirsten thing but will still go.

Thanks bookchick - i could not find the post

Scarlett

Hi
Yes, I saw Shopgirl and did not love him in it..although he did sort of save himself at the very end
I could not watch him in I the Huckabees..

I am waiting to see <u>La Moustache</u>
The NYTimes says :
<i>No matter how serious it becomes, however, &quot;La Moustache&quot; never forsakes an underlying attitude of high-style playfulness that recalls Hitchcock's cat-and-mouse romantic thrillers. This screen adaptation of a novel by Mr. Carr&egrave;re, a popular French author making his directorial debut, never lets you forget your manipulation by a storyteller with the mind of a trickster&quot;</i>

Seamus

kerouac -
was the version you saw in English with French subtitles, or dubbed? We will be in Paris shortly and sounds like it might be fun for my niece to see before her first visit to Versailles, but she speaks no French.

kerouac

It's in English in all of the major cinemas in central Paris. The major cinema chains to check out are :
www.ugc.fr
www.cinemasgaumontpathe.com
www.mk2.fr

Scarlett, I think you will find La Moustache quite interesting -- and with a very unexpected twist.

Gretchen

The reviewer I heard about MA said the French booed it because they don't want her to be portrayed in a favorable way. This is about her ascendency to the throne at 16 and her husband was 20 with the story told about basically teenagers in a strange situation. It was much better received outside the critics.

dina4

Kerouac-
Sounds like a great idea. We'll be in Paris in less than a month.
I'm sure rating systems are different in Europe, but do you happen to know if it's a rated R film? Our daughter is just 13 and , although I think it would be great for her to see it, I don't think she's ready for anything for rated R type movies.
Thanks,
dina

PatrickLondon

Lib&eacute;ration said Coppola didn't engage with any aspect of the history of the period:

http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Stor...784264,00.html

kerouac

The movie is definitely not R-rated; every scene where Kirsten Dunst is naked shows absolutely nothing, and the consummation of the marriage consists of an embarrassed grunt under the covers followed by &quot;Sorry&quot;.
I don't have any idea how foreigners can think that French have any special reason to like or dislike Marie Antoinette compared to any other royalty. Already, Napoleon is much more famous outside of France than in France, and Louis XVI was such an insignificant twirp that absolutely nobody cares about him or his family. That's what made the movie refreshing, because even to the French it shows a lot of things that people don't know about her, even though it cannot in any way be considered historically accurate -- but the spirit of the time is shown for what an insane period of dancing on the volcano that it was -- just like 2006.
I would say that the only political statement made by Sofia Coppola in the film is the inference that the regime lost popularity by sending too much money to help the American revolution. Food for thought.