Movie Recommendation

I've taken to watching movies while exercising. Watching half a movie makes the 45 min on the elliptical go much more quickly!

Over the last two days, I treated myself to this beauty. Coco Before Chanel is, as you might guess, the story of Coco Chanel's life from the time she was a young girl, left with her sister at an orphanage through her years singing with her sister at pubs, then on to her life outside Paris.

Due to her upbringing, Coco becomes an odd type of woman. She does a lot of watching from the sidelines, and makes clipped remarks when asked her opinions. She is enthralled by people of fortune, while being disgusted by the way they waste their time and their lives of frivolity. She begins to express her style as a sort of rebellion against the excesses she sees.

Coco lives with one man, falls in love with another, and ultimately decides not to marry. After the man she loves is killed in an auto accident, Coco goes on to earn her fame and fortune, making clothing and hats her way, and beginning new trends toward simplified and elegant dressing.

This film is in French, with subtitles in English. (That's only a little difficult to read while working out!) It's beautifully photographed and acted. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It has the same flavor as another of my favorite international pieces, Brideshead Revisited.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this film 4 stars.