An original film

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2006)

Clearly, Sofia has inherited Francis's talent. Like her father, she is very good at making us identify even in a period film and character study. But I'm not here to compare Sofia with Francis. I saw it in Nantes before it came out in the US and I think that for a French audience it must be very annoying to have a French figure told in a very American way. It is more about an American girl than an Austrian girl: The way Marie simply lives in her rich world and parties with friends without wondering one second if the outside world is as lucky as she is. Clearly, Sofia Coppola identifies with Marie: Like her, she is the daughter of a king, she has always had everything she wanted, etc. What I love about this film is tat it is the ultimate biography: The film may take place in the 18th century instead of the 20th and 21th, she may be Austrian instead of American, she may be the daughter of the king of Austria instead of the king of American cinema, her name may be Marie instead of Sofia, but it is very much a collision between the two. Sofia Coppola even deforms history a little to make it more clear that it is Sofia's story and not Marie's. She even goes as far as to make us listen to her own favorite music which Marie could never possibly have heard. In a way, Sofia has the same basic talents as her father- elegance, character study, character identification, a floating story- but where her father is very Italian and manly, she is very American and girly.