Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby jasperjoffe » Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:00 am

Not a big fan of lost in translation. This sticks in the head, with the cool nothing happening, lingering too long on not much, feel of video art, it takes an obvious subject, the emptiness of celeb shit, and somehow despite all its rich and famous lifestyle porn (look at that hotel swimming pool) gives you something good.
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Re: Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby Mortimer » Mon Jan 10, 2011 10:36 am

I love Bill Murray. I think everyone does and there will be a day of mourning when he dies. He's the only good thing in Lost In Translation. Sofia is well connected but not very talented.
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Re: Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby Astrid » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:21 pm

I think she is talented and that Somewhere is an enchanting film. Sofia is a mother of two whose made four great films before the age of 40. People slag her off because they think her films are only successful because her Dad helps produce and fund her films. They don't realise that F.F.C produces and funds lots of independent films for others that aren't successful. She deserves the awards and praise from critics
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Re: Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby CAP » Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:49 am

I thought Virgin Suicides was crappy but Lost in Translation pretty good. She tries for that Terence Malick-dreamy-lyricism tip without really having the eye, imagination. She is, however, more of a people person. Putting Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson together and giving them enough space was a master (mistress?) stroke. I will get round to Somewhere sometime - consensus seems to be that the parts are greater than the whole...

There are plenty of other little independent film makers in the US that don't get the breaks she's had. They have to settle for Sundance rather than Cannes. Like Deb Granik. And I don't see that having her own family in any way adds to her achievements or modifies them in any way. Yeah she's rich and connected, which gets stuff on the screen, but won't make it any better for what it puts there.

8-)
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Re: Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby CAP » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:25 am

Okay now I’ve seen Somewhere, and it wasn’t really what I was expecting. It’s better! Which is not to say I liked it; just that my objections are different, not quite as harsh. It’s more like Lost in Translation than Virgin Suicides. So no Malick influence (brittle voice overs, dreamy montages of details to setting, cute vignettes, jagged action cutting). This time around Sofia shoots for more of a Wenders/Jarmusch leisurely tableaux tip – although I still say she has no eye – most of Somewhere framed way too tight! The pole dancers the most strangled, the helicopter scene toward the end the only one ceded adequate space. Given the Italianate leanings throughout, I imagine Sofia would prefer to see it as Antonioni-influenced. If only!

But the real drawback is the star – Stephan Dwarf – his role much like Bill Murray’s in LIT (celeb in temporary lodgings, adrift from his life while on lucrative assignment…zzzz) the trouble is I found him far less engaging than Murray, far fewer resources, apart from a well-toned torso. The little girl is good, although my companion found her improbable as an eleven-year-old (she guessed more like a 13-14 year-old –these fine discriminations beyond me). The fact that she didn’t have a mobile phone glued to her ear throughout, when not bloody-well texting struck me as implausible (the little girl, not my companion), but still, the little girl – I forget the character’s name - had enough freshness and gaucheness to do the business, for me at least.

I didn’t mind the slow pacing, or lack of story. This kind of thing is all about atmosphere, nuances of character. Although I did mind the clumsy framing. This kind of thing is all about space, measuring distance, literally, emotionally. Sofia has cute ideas (the rhyming of the pole dancers with the little girl’s ice skating – the video game where they play in virtual bands versus the old geezer serenading them in the lounge of their hotel, later) but she lacks the formal rigour of Wenders, an Antonioni even an Ozu, the eye for staging or composition. Maybe she needs to look for a DP from le continent. Anyway the Dorff character is so vacuous and self-indulgent, even when jolted into self-awareness by his visiting daughter, it was hard to care. Plus, he drove a Ferrari.
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Re: Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby jasperjoffe » Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:14 am

see if it lingers in your consciousness CAP
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Re: Sofia Coppolas Somewhere

Postby CAP » Tue Jan 18, 2011 1:40 pm

My consciousness drives a Porsche, JJ.
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