Mads Mikkelsen as Igor Stravinsky and Anna Mouglalis as Coco Chanel in Coco & Igor, 2009Coco & Igor takes place after Chanel has established herself as a designer, and focuses on the possible (but not completely confirmed) relationship between Coco and Igor Stravinsky. Coco & Igor stars Anna Mouglalis and a very under-appreciated but supremely talented Danish actor—Mads Mikkelsen (some of you may know him as the villain in Casino Royale) as Stravinsky. What Coco & Igor gets right is all the sense of the hardness and the darkness of this woman. And for aesthetes, this movie is a gem: it focuses on Stravinsky's most famous piece of music, The Rite of Spring, which she attends at the Ballet Russe's controversial first performance. You also get a glimpse of Coco's country home in Garches, seeing the art-deco space with only black and white furniture is worth the rental.
Chanel and Stravinsky's affair is more about egos than love. Even though the facts are murky about their relationship, the film offers a glimpse of the deeply complex and contradictory woman that was Coco Chanel.
Photo: Regine Abadia/©Sony Pictures Classics/courtesy of Everett Collection
