Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)

51% of critics liked it
(88 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(18,999 ratings)

The brief love affair between two 20th century icons is dramatized in this period drama from director Jan Kounen. Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen) was one of Europe's most promising new composers when in 1913 he premiered his ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (aka The Rite of Spring); the piece proved to… More The brief love affair between two 20th century icons is dramatized in this period drama from director Jan Kounen. Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen) was one of Europe's most promising new composers when in 1913 he premiered his ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (aka The Rite of Spring); the piece proved to be wildly controversial, and the audience at the Paris debut was vocal in their disgust, ruining Stravinsky's reputation for years. One patron who did like the performance was Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis), who was already among Europe's most celebrated fashion designers. Seven years later, Chanel encounters Stravinsky at a party, and learns that the composer is penniless and without a place to live. Chanel befriends him, and allows him to move into her summer home in the country along with his wife, Catherine (Elena Morozova), and their four children. Chanel is nursing a broken heart after the recent death of her boyfriend, and what began as an act of compassion for a fellow artist turns into an affair of the heart as Chanel and Stravinsky become lovers, much to the chagrin of the sickly Catherine. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky was the second film about the fashion icon released in 2009, following Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 58 min.
Directed By: Jan Kounen
Written By: Chris Greenhalgh
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 11, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Sep 28, 2010
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Dan Kois, Washington Post
Beautiful but indulgent.
Tom Long, Detroit News
Too much of the time, the film seems intoxicated by its own sense of importance.
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
Two narcissists do not a couple make, and without any actual relationship, there really isn't a movie.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Jan Kounen's film is ravishingly beautiful, but inhumanly cool. The severe black-and-white deco interiors of Chanel's estate suggest an elegant chessboard where pitiless mind games are being played.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The performances are well-modulated to project exactly what the director, Jan Kounen, wants to say about these two people.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
A sumptuous re-creation of '20s France and the mad affair between two of the century's most iconic figures.
Jason Best, Movie Talk
Stravinsky refuses to acknowledge [Chanel] as his artistic equal: 'You are not an artist, you are a shopkeeper' ... After this put-down, the couple's romance fizzles out ...
Rob Thomas, Wisconsin State Journal
In the end, "Coco & Igor" doesn't really go anywhere, and it never quite equals the chaotic energy of that opening theater scene. But it's gorgeous to look at, as Kounen melds the heady visuals with Stravinsky's sweeping score.
Michael Smith, Tulsa World
This thin slice of so-called history is both so narrow in focus and out of focus that even the most devoted fans are likely to be disappointed.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...is a curious and moderately interesting film that, like many an initially torrid affair, eventually devolves into desultory ennui
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
It's beautifully shot and acted, but as with Coco Before Chanel last year, the one thing audiences will most want to know goes unanswered again: What makes this remarkable woman tick?
Roz Laws, Birmingham Post
It's well-shot and stylish, but slow and rather dull, with emotionally distant characters and a weak ending.
Neil Smith, Total Film
Mouglalis lacks Audrey Tautou's feisty pluck but makes up for it with Gallic froideur, while Mads Mikkelsen broods as a tortured artist.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
This French film's beginning is as brilliant as anything I've seen all year; unfortunately, most of the rest of the movie never lives up to that.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Refuses to dumb down its subjects for the sake of easy accessibility (the actors are truthful rather than likeable).
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
Stilted performances and an odd whimper of an ending are further flaws in this good-looking but turgid period piece.
Steve Rose, Guardian [UK]
The whole movie has the immaculate visual gloss of a Chanel advert, which is no bad thing.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
While it's not a particularly imaginative movie, it's a great-looking one...
Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies
It's a tragic and sophisticated love story.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
The film quickly turns into a dull slog.

Read all 23 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

A beautifully shot, well-acted film, about two interesting, dynamic characters. This film was gorgeous, and passionate. Unfortunately the stately pace of the film descends at times into long, meaningful looks that are just too artsy for their own good. But it is still worth the time,… More
A beautifully shot, well-acted film, about two interesting, dynamic characters. This film was gorgeous, and passionate. Unfortunately the stately pace of the film descends at times into long, meaningful looks that are just too artsy for their own good. But it is still worth the time, because its design and performances do carry us through the occasional lulls. Do not expect much in the way of explanation of resolution about other affairs in his life (family, music, etc.). The movie is beautiful, but ends rather abruptly.
Bathsheba M

It takes a while for movies (especially foreign movies) to make it out here, but this one was worth waiting for. It was gorgeous! And it shed some light on a "collaboration" if that is the right word between these two creative giants. And it also made me realize just how… More
It takes a while for movies (especially foreign movies) to make it out here, but this one was worth waiting for. It was gorgeous! And it shed some light on a "collaboration" if that is the right word between these two creative giants. And it also made me realize just how jaded we have become: an affair used to be a marriage deal-breaker, not just business as usual. Worth seeing for the historical significance--I had no idea that Stravinsky's Rite of Spring caused riots in the theatre!--and the sheer beauty of that era. I (almost) wished I were there.
Carlos M

This is Coco <i>après</i> Chanel, a soulless film that fails virtually in every aspect. Mouglalis is insipid, trying hard to be elegant and chic, and her character mourns the death of her lover but you never see or feel her pain. Mikkelsen is awkward, and the love story… More
This is Coco <i>après</i> Chanel, a soulless film that fails virtually in every aspect. Mouglalis is insipid, trying hard to be elegant and chic, and her character mourns the death of her lover but you never see or feel her pain. Mikkelsen is awkward, and the love story lifeless, just like everything else in this disastrous film.
Walter M

"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" starts in 1913 as a new ballet is being performed in Paris to a less than rapt audience. Instead of running away to stay one step ahead of the mob, composer Igor Stravinsky(Mads Mikkelsen) is bent on critiquing the dancers while Gabrielle… More
"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" starts in 1913 as a new ballet is being performed in Paris to a less than rapt audience. Instead of running away to stay one step ahead of the mob, composer Igor Stravinsky(Mads Mikkelsen) is bent on critiquing the dancers while Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel(Anna Mouglalis) almost has an orgasm just from being in the audience. Seven years later, Stravinsky is one of many Russian exiles living in Paris. Chanel offers him and his family her country villa to stay at but out of pride he refuses. Changing his mind is worries over his wife Katerina's(Elena Morozova) health. "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" is an intriguing, handsomely produced and great looking bit of speculation centered around the collision of like-minded and obsessed individuals who would both change the world.(You have to figure Stravinsky is on the right track with the extremely mixed reaction he gets.) While I do applaud any movie that leaves things unsaid, it is more than a little disappointing how little passion is on display. Otherwise, I do not have much problem with the deliberate pace, even though the opening dance scene probably goes on too long. A couple of cinematic flourishes help offset that.