Greetings from the Land of Enchantment

Seen at the Cinema

Let me confess how tired I was when I saw this film....I was on my way home from Austin and stopped in Santa Fe to pick up a few sundry groceries from Trader Joe's and then make my way home to pass out, I ran into a couple of friends who were in town to see Marie Antoinette. They convinced me to join them. I was looking forward to it. I've enjoyed both of Sophia Coppola's other movies and Kirsten Dunst is one of my favorites. Given all that, I still whispered toward the end of the film--this is one long music video and I'm too tired to enjoy it. sigh.

The music was fabulous and the way it was used was very refreshing and comic, even. Look for the tennis shoes! However, I was really disappointed in the direction...despite some really refreshing sequences between Dunst and her companions in the early sequences of the film, I found Schwartzman's character really flat and unbelievable. I generally find his performances fairly distant in their characterization--as if he were playing the character from six feet away. But in this film he's completely disembodied--dissociated--whatever you want to call it. He's not there and he's missed! Dunst was great but I felt the shift in her characterization wasn't told clearly or maybe sympathetically enough? I wanted to like her and I did, but then I was confused by her in the end. Didn't seem to stay true to any core personality or principle--and maybe that's the point. Yet, it didn't work for me.

I'm sorry to say that I don't recommend it. Go see it for the kitsch and the glamour but don't expect to be blown away--in fact you may need a friend to help you stay awake.

posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 4:59 PM