Beautiful

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2006)

Sofia never seems to amaze me. I never once doubted that this film would be beautiful. I mean, after all, Sofia did direct it. I have been a huge Sofia fan for quite awhile, and I had been waiting for this film it seems like forever. I have read numerous amounts of reviews all calling this film "superficial", "boring", and "only pleasing to the eye." Well, if you think this, I guess it just didn't strike the right chord like it did with me.
I'm not going to repeat what has been said 100 times, about the costumes being beautiful, etc etc. Yes, they were beautiful, and Sofia really knows how to set a mood just by colors. There was something very beautiful and very sad about this film, seeing Marie spending her teenage years in Versailles and then at the ending, leaving the one place we spent the whole film. This movie is very poetic and lyrical, most people will dislike it. It isn't a straight shooting history film, instead, it has charm and a certain magic to it. The modern music was a fantastic idea, especially in scenes where Marie can't stop thinking about her lover, and The Strokes start playing. Or when Marie and her friends stay up to watch the sun rise while my favorite New Order song was playing.
This is definitely not a film for your average film viewer. There is beauty in the silence. Looking back on the film, I can't remember Marie talking a lot, but I can remember her speaking through her actions or eye contact.
Fantastic, wonderful, and dream like. Thank you Sofia.