''Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky'' is a 2009 French

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Jan Kounen Jan Kounen (born Jan Coenen; 2 May 1964) is a Netherlands-born French film director and producer. In France, he is mostly known for his films '' Dobermann'' (1997), '' Blueberry, l'experience secrete'' (2004) and '' 99 francs'' (2007). Outside F ...

. It was chosen as the Closing Film of the

2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...

, and was shown on 24 May 2009. ''Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky'' is based on the 2002 fictional novel ''

Coco and Igor ''Coco and Igor'' is a 2002 novel by Chris Greenhalgh. Set mainly in Paris in 1920, it is based on a possible real-life affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. Plot summary Stravinsky's ''The Rite of Spring'' has its Paris premiere o ...

'' by

Chris Greenhalgh Chris Greenhalgh is a British novelist, screenwriter, teacher and poet. Life Chris Greenhalgh was born in 1963 and brought up in Manchester. After studying English Literature at university, he lived and worked for five years in Italy and Ath ...

and traces a rumoured affair between

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

in Paris in 1920, the year that

Chanel No. 5 Chanel No. 5 was the first perfume launched by French couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in 1921. The scent formula for the fragrance was compounded by French-Russian chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. The design of its bottle has been an imp ...

was created. Greenhalgh also wrote the screenplay for the film.

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel i ...

and its former chief designer

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 u ...

lent their support to the production; they granted access to the company's archives and to Coco Chanel's apartment at 31, rue Cambon, Paris.

Plot

An introductory scene takes place in Paris in 1913, where

attends the first, scandalous performance of

's ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

''. The rhythmic and harmonic dissonance of the score and the surprising choreography of the piece result in heckling and outrage among much of the audience. But Chanel is impressed by Stravinsky and his music. Seven years later, Chanel and Stravinsky meet again. Although her business has flourished, Chanel is mourning the death of her lover, Arthur "Boy" Capel. Stravinsky has chosen to flee to France following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. An immediate sympathy and attraction occurs between the ''couturière'' and the composer. Chanel invites Stravinsky to live in her villa outside Paris, along with his ailing wife and their children. The summer months that follow see Chanel and Stravinsky begin an affair, one which Stravinsky's wife cannot avoid becoming aware of. Tensions between Stravinsky and his wife, and between Stravinsky's wife and Chanel, are unavoidable. The film implies that the affair, and the later termination of the affair by Chanel, has a major influence on the lives of both Chanel and Stravinsky. It is during this time that Chanel creates

with her perfumer,

Ernest Beaux Ernest Beaux ( – 9 June 1961) was a Russian-born French perfumer who is best known for creating Chanel No. 5, which is perhaps the world's most famous perfume. Family background Born in Moscow, Ernest Beaux was the son of Edouard Hyppolite ...

, and that Stravinsky begins to compose in a new, more liberated style. During his time at the villa, he works hard on a revision of The Rite of Spring. One of the last scenes of the movie shows the revival of the ballet, with new choreography, and this time, shows that it was an artistic triumph and recognized as a masterpiece.

Cast

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. Originally a gymnast and dancer, he rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Det ...

Anna Mouglalis Anna Mouglalis ( el, Άννα Μουγλάλη; born 26 April 1978) is a French actress and model. She is known for being a house ambassador for Chanel since 2002, and for portraying the fashion designer Coco Chanel in the 2009 film ''Coco Chane ...

Elena Morozova Elena Igorevna Morozova (russian: Елена Игоревна Морозова) is a Russian football midfielder, currently playing for Ryazan VDV in the Russian Championship. She previously played for Energiya Voronezh, WFC Rossiyanka, Zorky K ...

as Catherine Stravinsky *

Natacha Lindinger Natacha Lindinger (born 20 February 1970) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than sixty films since 1991. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * 1970 births Living people French film actresses ...

Misia Sert Misia Sert (born Maria Zofia Olga Zenajda Godebska; 30 March 1872 – 15 October 1950) was a pianist of Polish descent who hosted an artistic salon in Paris. She was a patron and friend of numerous artists, for whom she regularly posed. Early lif ...

* Grigori Manoukov as

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...

* Rasha Bukvic as

Grand Duke Dmitri Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Великий Князь Дмитрий Павлович; 18 September 1891 – 5 March 1942) was a son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and a ...

* Erick Demarestz as The Doctor *

Nicolas Vaude Nicolas Vaude (born 24 July 1962) is a French actor. Filmography Theater External links * 1962 births Living people French male film actors French male stage actors French male television actors {{France-actor-stub ...

Anatole Taubman Anatole Taubman (born 23 December 1970) is a Swiss actor. He is best known for his performance as Elvis in ''Quantum of Solace ''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy film and the twenty-second in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Prod ...

Boy Capel Arthur Edward Capel CBE (December 1881 – 22 December 1919), known as Boy Capel, was an English polo player, possibly best-remembered for being a lover and muse of fashion designer Coco Chanel. Biography Born in Brighton, Sussex, Cape ...

* Maxime Danielou as Theodore * Sophie Hasson as Ludmila * Nikita Ponomarenko as Soulima Stravinsky * Clara Guelblum as Milene * Olivier Claverie as Joseph * Catherine Davenier as Marie * Marek Kossakowski as

Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

* Jérôme Pillement as

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conducting, conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting enga ...

David Tomaszewski David Tomaszewski, born 6 October 1984) is a French music video director and digital art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically ...

as Principal Violinist * Marek Tomaszewski as Pianist * Anton Yakovlev as Piotr * Irina Vavilova as The Governess * Julie Farenc Deramond as Julie the salesgirl * Emy Levy and Sarah Jérôme as Workshop girls * Tina Sportolaro as Beaux's secretary * Michel Ruhl as The Baron * Pierre Chidyvar, Agnès Vikouloff and Sacha Vikouloff as Russian musicians * David Baschung as The Doctor * Cyril Accorsi, Matthieu Bajolet, Caroline Baudouin, Bruno Benne, Jonathan Ber, Laura Biasse, Barbara Caillieu, Marie-Laure Caradec, Damien Dreux, Sophie Gérard, Patrick Harlay, Inès Hernandez, Anne Laurent, Thibaud Le Maguer, Anne Lenglet, Olivier Normand, Florent Otello, Edouard Pelleray, Judith Perron, Pascal Queneau, Enora Rivère, Julie Salgues, Jonathan Schatz, Wu Zheng (dancers in ''

'')

Reception

Reviews were mixed.

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said the film was "cool, elegant and sexy…. But the film … never regains that initial blast of energy and the final scenes wobble toward a wishy-washy ending." Writing for

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

, Casey Burchby praises the "extraordinarily bold" opening sequence that recreates the Paris premiere of Stravinsky's ''

''. Modestas Mankus from

Our Culture Mag ''Our Culture Mag'' (stylised ourculture) is a British arts and culture online magazine launched in 2016 by Modestas Mankus , based in Cambridge, England. It covers film, fashion, music, art, photography and literature. History In 2016, Modes ...

gave the film 3/5 stars saying "stumbled through its unclear presentation but gave us a look into the world of two greats."

Historical context

The riotous premiere of ''The Rite of Spring'' at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while ...

on 29 May 1913 is legendary (see: The Rite of Spring#Premiere). In the spring of 1920, Chanel was introduced to Stravinsky by Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

. During the summer, Chanel discovered that the Stravinsky family was seeking a place to live. She invited them to her new home, "Bel Respiro," in the Paris suburb of

Garches Garches () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, but is also the location of Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, which specialises in traumat ...

until they could find a more suitable residence. They arrived at "Bel Respiro" during the second week of September and remained until May 1921. Chanel also guaranteed the 1920 Ballets Russes production of ''The Rite of Spring'' against financial loss with an anonymous gift to Diaghilev, said to be 300,000 francs. The personal relationships depicted in the film are largely fictionalized. Stravinsky was reputed to have been a philanderer who had several affairs, including one with Chanel. Whereas Stravinsky never publicly referred to this alleged affair, Chanel spoke about it at length to her biographer

Paul Morand Paul Morand (13 March 1888 – 24 July 1976) was a French author whose short stories and novellas were lauded for their style, wit and descriptive power. His most productive literary period was the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. He was mu ...

in 1946 (the conversation was published thirty years later as '' l'Allure de Chanel''). The accuracy of Chanel's claims has been disputed both by Stravinsky's second wife,

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

, and by his close musical collaborator,

Robert Craft Robert Lawson Craft (October 20, 1923 – November 10, 2015) was an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate professional relationship with Igor Stravinsky, on which Craft drew in producing numerous recordings and books. ...

. The Chanel fashion house avers there is no evidence that any affair between Chanel and Stravinsky ever occurred.Fact-or-fiction Chanel-Stravinsky affair curtains Cannes
''Swiss News'', 25 May 2009 Retrieved 18 January 2015

References

External links