Coco Chanel (2008)

Well, the previous movie made me curious of the story of Coco Chanel so I watched another one about it. Compared to Coco Avant Chanel this one seemed way more credible. I think that that one is a rather liberal interpretation of her life and career, while this one tried to be accurate. Though I cannot be sure since I don't really know much about the real story. Anyway, all in all this movie was really good. It had a frame and was basically a string of flashbacks. First I thought it made the movie kind of lame but eventually I realised that it gave it a nice structure, focusing on parallels between her present (after the Second World War) and past. One of the things put in the centre was her ability to always start anew after each and every blow in her life. She says something in the movie along the line: it's failure that gives you strength not successes; she had her share in both. There were a few things, though that I didn't like at all. It's an English-language movie, they speak Enlgish from the beginning. Seeing that most of the main actors were French (judging from their names and accents) French could have been used sometimes. Especially in the scenes from her childhood when she speaks to her parents. Of course then the integrity would have gone, since later she was in France as well, why speak English? I don't know how it could have been done better but I found it a bit annoying, the use of English with a heavy French accent all along. Bottom line: it has its flaws but is definitely worth a watch. After watching this one, I wouldn't recommend Coco Avant Chanel. Only if you're an Audrey Toutau fan.