娱乐新天地Trailer 2006-绝代艳后 / Marie Antoinette

In the revisionist "Marie Antoinette," writer-director Sofia Coppola and actress Kirsten Dunst take a remote and no doubt misunderstood historical figure, the controversial and often despised Queen of France at the time of the French Revolution, and brings her into sharp focus as a living, breathing human being with flaws, foibles, passions, intelligence and warm affections. The movie slices through the cobwebs of history to seek the heart of the young Austrian princess whom 18th century political diplomacy 14 thrust into a maelstrom 15 of court intrigue 16 and poisoned personal relationships without even asking if she minded.

This is not a portrait, even though it is based on Antonia Fraser's biography "Marie Antoinette: The Journey," that will play well in France. Here she is a favorite villainess. Nor will the film be an easy sell in other territories, where Coppola's contemporary sensibilities and dialogue may feel anachronistic 17. The film certainly is far afield from her popular "Lost in Translation" even though both films concern characters that suffer anxiety and ennui 18 from cultural dislocation.

The film opens here this week, where it can expect mixed to hostile reactions from critics, but may possibly intrigue moviegoers keen to see a different version of well-known events. When it opens domestically Oct. 13, Sony will have to shrewdly market the film to pull in a young crowd for whom Marie Antoinette is a figure in a wax museum.

One more comparison to "Lost in Translation": Marie Antoinette's protracted 19 arrival in her new home in France and especially the Palace of Versailles indelibly expresses the young woman's discomfort 20 and loss of bearings just as Bill Murray's arrival in Tokyo. Each is a stranger in a strange land of unfamiliar 21 and even upsetting customs.

The problem Coppola confronts is that Marie Antoinette is a protagonist 22 to whom things happen. She has little if any control over her destiny other than to indulge, famously, in a decadent 23 lifestyle and cavort 24 with her ladies in waiting in Le Petit Trianon. News, tragic 25 or otherwise, arrives by messenger, and those around her are either wily or unwise.

Coppola's solution to this dramatic handicap is to conspire 26 with her star to achieve an empathetic portrait of a life spent in a gilded 27, vast prison. Most of the movie is shot in and around Versailles. Sometimes scenes occur on the very spot of the actual events. It's hard to imagine this picture even happening without the cooperation of the French government; mere 28 sets were never going to get the job done.

What the history books tell us about Marie Antoinette's lavish 29 lifestyle, with her rising each morning to a retinue 30 of women who dress her, the movie correctly sees as an indignity 31: Who wants to get dressed in front of virtual strangers?

The marriage at 14 to her husband, Louis (Jason Schwartzman), the Dauphin and heir to the throne, creates the central relationship of the movie. The young man's unwillingness 32 or inability to consummate 33 the marriage for an astonishing and awkward seven years inspired gossip and derision, mostly directed at the undeserving Dauphine. An undercurrent of malicious 34 chitchat becomes a kind of white noise in many palace scenes.

Dunst radiates innocence 35 even as she is losing that innocence. She transfers her love to pets and, when children finally do arrive, to the babies. She refuses to relinquish 36 her willfulness or determination even though these traits do not stand her in good stead at Versailles.

Schwartzman gives a wry 37 and funny performance as a man even more ill suited to his historical role than his wife. The movie never gets to the bottom of his difficulties and indifference 38, wisely resisting the temptation to impose a modern interpretation 39 on this relationship. Instead, Coppola hews 40 to her heroine's point of view. In the final reel, the couple does achieve a maturity 41, only to be cut short by angry mobs and revolution.

Terrific performances litter the film: Rip Torn's Louis XV, a shrewd man with hearty 42 appetites of flesh and stomach; Asia Argento as his sultry and crude mistress, Madame Du Barry, despised by all but her lover; Steve Coogan as the courtly Austrian ambassador, who tries to steer 43 Marie Antoinette through the tricky 44 shoals of court politics; Danny Huston as her favorite older brother, the only male with whom she has any real rapport 45; and Marianne Faithful as her politically astute 46 mother, Maria Teresa. Unfortunately, the movie never quite does justice to a Swedish count, played wanly 47 by James Dornan, whom the Queen takes as a lover.

The costumes, dazzling shoes and jewels are pure pleasure to behold 48, and Lance Acord's cinematography keeps things simple no matter how lavish the settings. The bursts of rock music on the soundtrack often takes you out of the picture, but this is an indulgence one easily grants to Coppola, who otherwise achieves a harmonious 49 blend of history and contemporary perceptions.