comment #1

JD says ...

Roger Ebert clarifies the confusion about Marie-Antoinette:

As you’re reading this, do you have the impression that Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” was booed here at Cannes? You can be excused for that impression, because the booing at the Wednesday morning press screening was widely reported, and I am one of those responsible, although I did not boo. Drudge headlined the boos and linked to a story in Variety saying they had “a Gallic accent,” leading to my speculations yesterday about whether “boo” sounds differently in French and English.

But now let’s step back and be fair. Yes, there was booing. But I was present at the screening and would guess not more than five people, maybe 10, booed. Many others applauded. Booing is always shocking to North American critics; I am not sure I have heard booing more than once or twice in all my years at the Toronto, Sundance, Telluride, Chicago, Montreal or New York festivals. In Europe, they boo all the time, sometimes because they think a film is bad, sometimes because it is (according to them) politically incorrect.

The reports of booing have disturbed Coppola, who on a few hours’ notice unexpectedly withdrew as the guest of honor for festival president Gilles Jacob’s formal dinner Thursday night at the Carlton Hotel.

“I don’t know why Variety thought the French were booing,” Pierre Rissient told me the next morning in the sunny breakfast room of the Hotel Splendid. Rissient is one of the best-connected people in the world of French cinema; he represents one degree of separation.

“The French critics saw the film in Paris before it played here. The reviews were mostly very good. It opened in Paris yesterday and is doing terrific business. The only thing we might question is the implication that Louis XVI was not the father of all of Marie Antoinette’s children. DNA testing has shown all her descendants were Bourbons.”

More evidence that the boos did not have a Gallic accent comes from Dave McCoy, who writes on MSN.com Movies:

“At one point, Marie, just awakened by a swarm of servants, stands naked and cold, while family members decide who gets the privilege of dressing her. Until this point, Marie has said little in the film. When finally clothed, she utters, ‘This is ridiculous.’ ‘This is Versailles,’ responds her servant.

“I laughed, as I had been doing for the past 20 minutes. I was laughing at the satire, at Coppola's brash approach and from the pure joy that a great film can trigger. That's when two French journalists to my right Frenched me. “Those were the rules! They had rules!’ one hissed, while the other sneered and added, ‘Not funny! Not funny!’ Of course, this made me laugh harder. I briefly considered explaining the concept of satire to my hosts, but it was pointless.”

So did those who boo perhaps have a Yankee accent? Or British, Italian, or Austrian? Who can say? The important point is that the film was not hated. The daily “critics’ jury” of Screen International, a cross-section of nine international critics, gave it 2.44 points out of a possible 4; it’s tied for fifth out of 14 films. In another poll, Michel Ciment rated it worthy of the Palme d’Or.

I’ve also noticed that opinions on the film seem to be growing more favorable as time passes. True, many viewers were disappointed that it doesn’t end with Marie’s beheading. On second thought, I realize Coppola was making a film about a performance: A 14-year-old girl from Vienna is brought to France to cement a diplomatic alliance and symbolize the bonds between the nations. Versailles is a stage upon which she plays a queen. She has her own theatrical ambitions, and her husband even builds her a theater where she can sing.

Then the revolutionary mob assails Versailles, and as she appears on a balcony, she majestically lowers her head, spreads her arms, and bows to them. Finally, a real curtain call. Perhaps a beheading would have been anticlimactic.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060525/FILMFESTIVALS01/60525001

comment #2

Jeeze says ...

Seriously JD, we dont care, and sofia coppola doesnt need your support, she has her dad. Please, just wait until you watch it yourself and than blog all you want about it, until than, dont worry, be happy.

comment #3

JD says ...

Jees, Jeeze! I'm not supporting her, but it's only fair to clarify the facts. Everyone wants to pretend this exagerrated nonsense about the film getting booed out of Cannes is accurate -- because it makes a good story -- but Ebert is suggesting that this has been blown out of proportion. For those hoping to get a semi-accurate picture of reality, I think this is totally relevant. But why let the truth get in the way of a good story? And it really has less to do with my opinion of the movie (whether I like it or not), than it has to do with the importance of accurately reporting reception histories. Movie journalists tend to reach for big headlines where much smaller ones would suffice and, as a movie fan, I think this is incredibly destructive, particularly to films that attempt to break the mold and try something new.

comment #4

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