glitz and glamour faded Fame and mixed
fortunes comedic capers and
morning-after silences for Sofia Coppola
a moment's peace is usually only found
when on the move gazing out of the
window born into Hollywood royalty she
got her first taste of movie stardom
when she was just a few months old
making an appearance in her father's
film The Godfather some 27 years later
she moved behind the camera for her
debut feature The Virgin Suicides
plenty of famous kids have made a movie
or two but Sophia cobblers work has
struck a chord with viewers and critics
alike here's a closer look at cobblers
directorial trademarks and formatic
interests and how they've made her one
of the most celebrated filmmakers
working today unsurprisingly for someone
raised in Hollywood Coppola films are
often set against a backdrop of fame but
these aren't glossy stories of the
silver screen Coppola is more interested
in the minutiae I of celebrity and her
character spent more time on press
junkets photo shoots and commercials
than they do immersed in the craft of
filmmaking mm and Fries lost in
translation revolves around a washed-up
actor on a commercial gig in Tokyo
2013's The Bling Ring follows a group of
young people breaking into luxury homes
in the Hollywood Hills even 2006 s Marie
Antoinette views French royalty through
a pop culture lens casting the titular
queen as a bored socialite pressured by
court intrigue and frivolously diverted
by fashion coppola satirical take on
Fame is the driving force behind 2010
somewhere a stripped back story of a
newly successful movie star who checks
into the legendary Chateau Marmont and
well checks out when Johnny's ex-wife
leaves him in charge of his teen
daughter Cleo their strained
relationship becomes clear
when you learn how to ice-skate
I've been going for three years
Clio helps Johnny realise the funk that
he's in and the film's most emotional
moments revolve around the pair
rediscovering their bond but the
majority of the movie is taken up with
Johnny's search for something to
distract him he speeds around Los
Angeles in his sports car falls asleep
watching pole dancers and mechanically
attends a series of publicity events
some where's version or valet is sterile
almost empty barely anyone seems to be
around in one of the film's most
striking scenes an appointment with an
effects house leaves Johnny completely
covered over with plaster identity
erased the only sign of life is a slow
rhythmic breathing beneath the flashy
exterior of fame and excess Kapil has
characters experience a pervasive
loneliness and malaise that defies easy
explanation they're often found in
interstitial impersonal spaces hotels
and schools or spaces that deny them
privacy like Versailles and Marie
Antoinette or the always watched Lisbon
house in the Virgin Suicides
most of all their insomniacs no one gets
a good night's sleep in a Coppola film
lost in translation is perhaps the best
example of the directors fascination
with loneliness Charlotte is the young
wife of a photographer on business in
Japan she connects with Bob a fading
movie star promoting a Japanese whiskey
brand and they develop an intimate and
ambiguous relationship in a country
where neither speaks the language and
neither can sleep Charlotte and Bob bond
over late-night drinking sessions and
excursions into Tokyo in contrast with
the quiet lonely hotel rooms Tokyo is
portrayed as a vibrant chaotic world of
leisure showcased through visits to
arcades pachinko parlors nightclubs and
karaoke bars as in somewhere
all of this surface-level fun is there
to try and fill a void in the characters
lives in lost in translation it provides
the catalyst for a fleeting moment of
connection between Bob and Charlotte's
in a quieter moment they speak softly
while falling asleep in bed together
as Charlotte opens up about her marriage
Bob softly lays his hand on her foot and
limited show of affection that speaks
volumes
in exploring these films Coppola almost
always centers her stories on young
female experiences most significantly
the Virgin Suicides interrogate the
difficult issue of teen suicide
following a group of teen boys who are
obsessed with the enigmatic painful
lives of the Lisbon Sisters for the boys
the inner lives of these young women are
completely mysterious accessible only
via stolen looks and keepsakes
[Music]
any attempt at direct communication with
the girls is stilted and awkward um but
when they're together the lesbian
sisters speak freely articulating a view
of the world
that's aliens are the boys adults are
also incapable of fully understanding
what's happening to the sisters after
youngest Cecilia's suicide attempt a
doctor tells her obviously doctor you've
never been a 13 year old girl in
communicating these stories of young
women couple as sharp sense of humor
provides much-needed levity but
suffering is always around the corner
copulas latest feature on the rocks
follows a woman reconnecting with her
playboy father as they go on an
adventure around New York with its story
of excess intergenerational connection
and a female protagonist surrounded by a
characterful city it looks set to be
another classic Coppola film
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