At the moment I am trawling through film archives in search of new film inspirations (film-spiration's get it :D), I am currently going through a bit of a french film phase, especially anything with Audrey Tautou (the current beautiful face of Chanel No 5).
I first saw her in the tantalizingly witty and beautifully directed 'Amelie', a story of an innocent and naive girl in Paris, who's quirks about justice lead her on a journey to help those around her and inadvertently to discover love. I have seen this film over and over again and I love it a bit more every time. Its quirky and fun, sentimental and melancholy, bazaar and brilliant.
a few of my favourite moments:
when she alters the football match viewing pleasure of a rather unpleasant man
when she looks back in the cinema at every bodies faces
when she lead a blind man through the streets describing all that she could see
(it is lots of little moments like these which make this film truly amazing)
Following this film, I was recommended by my good friend amazon to also try 'Coco Avante Chanel'. The biographical tale of Chanel's creator was empowering and moving, I laughed and cried but above all i absorbed. The whole film is saturated with opportunities, the settings and costumes, the allure of seduction and determination. I found this film an inspiration to aspire to be something/someone greater.
Now aside from my apparent fetish for french films and Audrey Tautou, I recently saw a film which both disturbed and fascinated me. The 1997, 'Lolita', directed by Adrian Lyne, starring Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain. The plot in itself reads quite damning with a man marrying his landlady only to seduce and be seduced by her 14 year old daughter, 'Lolita'. I was mesmerized by the power of which a 14 year old child held over a grown man. I only wish I had seen this film sooner as it would have aided my investigations into child innocence for my last project.
The scene when 'lo' is eating the banana ia so seductive with the red lipstick and it reminded me exactly of one of my favourite Rankin photographs. I wonder if Lolita was an inspiration to him also?!