Coco Chanel

Gabrielle Chanel grows up in an orphanage, sings in cabarets and carries the nickname she picked up there for the rest of her life. She starts by making hats; at a time when women wore corsets and full skirts, she cuts clothes from men's shirts and jersey. The film narrates her rise while also looking back from her old age. The subject is not fashion but comfort in clothing being an invention. What Chanel did was not to decorate but to remove, and the best passages are the ones where nobody understands the choice. The form runs in two times: Chanel in her fifties looks back before a collection. The period design is detailed and the costumes are where most of the work went. The production is a French and Italian co-production made for television and was also shown in two parts. The narrative does not address the contested part of her life, her German connections during the Second World War, and that became the main criticism of the film. Christian Duguay directs. Shirley MacLaine plays the older Chanel, Barbora Bobuľová the younger, and Malcolm McDowell the man beside her. Who it is for: viewers interested in period biography and the history of fashion. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a complete portrait; the film leaves the most contested chapter of her life out entirely.