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I chose to start off the [the films of] series with Sofia Coppola not only because she’s an amazing filmmaker, I also only recently discovered her. I saw Somewhere in December 2010 and shortly after that saw her other films as well. It struck me that she had such a gentle yet distinctive vision and it inspired me to capture that vision in a short montage, which then led to planning an entire series. Here’s some hidden quirks in the video:

So this is the first shot in the video, and it’s accompanied by the opening notes of Opus 36 by Dustin O’Halloran. There’s something very haunting yet comforting about this piece of music from the Marie Antoinette soundtrack, and it fits the silenced darkness in her films so well I used it to open the video. YouTube-wise this is a really risky opening, because it’s not something that immediately grabs your attention if you’re not interested in watching the full two minutes, but I didn’t want to let that get in the way of the feel of the video.

“You’re not even old enough to know how bad life gets.” This I felt was very reflective of Bill Murray’s character in Lost in Translation, who probably started out as a succesful and ambitious young actor but had to face that this wouldn’t last forever. That fear of growing old and just the plain hopelessness of his character really made that film. The quote is from The Virgin Suicides.

I thought about this shot many times before putting it in the final cut, because I was scared it might be a little too graphic, but then again the film is called ‘The Virgin Suicides’ and it’s a wonderfully poetic shot if you think about it. Sofia usually shoots in a way that you see her characters in their most vulnerable moments, and this is a reference to those shots.

My sister made me put this in. It’s part of the montage in Marie Antoinette where she reads a poem and it’s just so relaxing.

This is where I’ll Try Anything Once by the Strokes kicks in, a wonderful demo of You Only Live Once. I made a point of owning a vinyl record of that track, because in the video the record is shown playing. It’s surprisingly hard to find, it’s on a B-Side of Heart In A Cage, but a Japanese version or something, so it definitely cost a couple of bucks but there’s something special about vinyl. Also, that very first line, ‘Can decisions shape your life?’ really brings across what all Sofia’s characters are dealing with in pretty much every one of her movies.

“Why not try it all?” Small joke here, with Marie trying on different types of shoes, including the characteristic purple All Stars.

I put these shots next to each other to not only show the visual similarity but also the bond between the characters in Lost in Translation in Somewhere; not the fact that both Bill and Stephen’s characters are actors, but the father-daughter relationship between obviously Stephen and Elle’s characters in Somewhere but also between Bill and Scarlett’s characters in Lost in Translation.

Another visual comparison, but also emotional comparison; both characters contemplating their lifes by looking at the world passing by. There aren’t many films that would show their characters looking out of a window for a full 2 minutes but that’s exactly why I love Sofia’s films, they’re really grounded. I don’t know about you guys, but I love looking out the window and just stepping out of the world for a few minutes. Also, I chose to open Love Like A Sunset by Phoenix by seperating this guitar from the other instruments, because it gives a feeling of repetition but also a lack of completion, as if there’s supposed to be more than there already is. Of course with this song there definitely is, and soon the lonely guitar is accompanied by another guitar and after that with a whole ensemble of instruments, so the loneliness gets resolved in the end.

This split-screen shot is to contrast the warmness of suburban homes and the coldness of a huge city. In all of Sofia’s films the main character is lonely, even though he is surrounded by people, much like in a big city.

“For relaxing times, make it Suntori times.” Classic line here, couldn’t leave that out.

“Where it starts, it ends.” Lovely lyrics by Phoenix here, but also a small visual joke; the very first shot of Sofia’s first film, The Virgin Suicides, and the very last shot of her last film, Somewhere. I wonder if anybody noticed.

I wanted to end with this shot because it’s such a powerful moment in The Virgin Suicides, these boys paying their respects to the Lisbon sisters, but also clearly confused by this unexpected situation they’ve encountered.

So that’s it for this month! Next month, another amazing filmmaker!