Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

I so missed the party nights, that's why I'm posting these movies for these few days. and with the blog name set at chic et beau, everything has to be chic & beau & lumineux, right?

This is the classic Audrey Hepburn film, the one character that is always enjoyable, lovely to see on the silver screen. Holly Gollightly, the top banana of the shock department, epitomizes the party goers in New York in Capote's time. It's one of the chicest films to watch.

"You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. "

Apart from the clothes and parties, there's a more underlying topic, which talks about commitment phobia. I think Holly Gollightly simply symbolises the phobia. It's kind of a sad movie for some parts, but on the whole it makes you laugh and reflect. She's having quite a pathetic life until she meets Paul Varjack and their resemblance creates a parallel in the film.

Breakfast at Tiffany's sheds light on the tragic human life in the mid 20th century when individual drifted alone in the great big city, trying to find meaning in their lives. On the whole, this film may not be one of the best Audrey Hepburn had done, but it certainly creates an immortal character that reminds us to love, laugh and live.

Bright Young Things (2003)

hmmm... how should I put it...
Wonderful directing, stellar cast, satirical dialogues, smashing costumes and backgrounds. They are the Bright Young Things of the society, but there's quite some irony in the title. They are not actually bright (but they're young), the first part of the movies show the vulgar lifestyles of this set of young upper class people in the 30s London, fooling around, going to parties at 3am, doing things impulsively. Totally ruthless but quite an honest and bittersweet reflection of people in those days.

People say that era was like no other. I admit it's quite true, that's why its brilliance and essence is always being captured in films and novels. On the other hand, I think actually the spirit still exists. I mean who are not like these people when they're young and always eager to go on new adventures. We party, we get wasted, we spend time fooling around, we gossip with our friends, have fun, and we're more or less just like them. That's why it's quite brilliant of Stephen Fry to attract the audience by merging the glamour of that era and the lifestyle that still exists, making us want to be a part of the bright young things.

The cast is amazing. Peter O'Toole's appearance as Nina's father, really hilarious, forgot Adam the moment he saw him. lol and Simon Callow, Jim Broadbent, Dan Aykroyd and many more. The Bright Young Things are of course amazing!!! James McAvoy's Lord Balcairn is kind of sly and witty, Stephen Campbell Moore is really charming as Adam Symes, the author who's desperately in love with Emily Mortimer's fun-loving but sometimes cold Nina Blount. Moore really delivers his character well, leading the whole movie, and this is only his debut!!! Hopefully, we can get to see him more in the coming future. Michael Sheen is so amazingly hilarious.

They were living in a decadent era, possibly after the war and everything chaotic so they kind of went wild with their lives, perhaps with the idea of "live fast, die young". Anyway, the bright young things give you a pathetic feeling, but the best thing about the movie is that Fry makes us have sympathy for them and make them real humans who move the audience.

"This so-called 20th century of angst, neurosis and panic. Reader be glad that you have nothing to do with this world. Its glamour is a delusion, its speed a snare, its music a scream of fear. Faster and faster they swirl, sickening themselves with every turn. The faster the ride, the greater the nausea, the terror, and the shame."

Another time another era. But some things never change - spirit, scandal and youth.

The History Boys (2006)

finally got to see the movie in HK. It always takes us so long to get some inspiring and witty British films, and they usually don't show them in the cinemas.


it's witty, showing the difference between the old methods of teaching and the new ones. As we all know, we're living in a time of competition. People just study for the sake of study. (like what Irwin taught the boys... all they got to do was to aim at the interview questions to get into oxbridge) That's quite right. I mean we can't even afford the time to be carefree and talk about the "meaningless" stuff. The "meaningless" things like poetry taught by Hector is actually deeper and more insightful. But in these days, who cares about that? This is kind of the tragedy we're living in reflected from this film, showing the declining education system, yet the new methods aren't bad. They teach us to have more "flair" according to the film.

Another thing that really amazed me is the topic about homosexuality. The whole plot revolves around this. Alan Bennett is explosive, putting everything into this film and yet adds a tinge of wit to it. The 1980s I assume (I wasn't even born yet) was a time of experiencing new things, just like what the people from the 30s did. New things and senses struck us, and the film is not afraid to talk about this in a positive way. However, I'm still quite confused about Dakin... He's like bisexual or something, or is he just trying to break away from the conventions in life after he got into oxford? something as a release.

On the whole, this movie deserves all its awards and apparently Alan Bennett's script adds some really striking and charming dialogues to the film.
"But this is History. Distance yourselves. Our perspective on the past alters. Looking back, immediately in front of us is dead ground. We don't see it, and because we don't see it this means that there is no period so remote as the recent past. And one of the historian's jobs is to anticipate what our perspective of that period will be... even on the Holocaust. "
I find this quite true as a History student. History actually needs us to be the spectator and views things from an objective way, and be fair about the events and people. Our perspective changes as time changes.

Stephen Campbell Moore is talented as Irwin, and of course Richard Griffiths and the guy playing Dakin and Posner. I heard there was the play in HK before, but I didn't get to watch it... anyway, I've watched A Good Woman, and Moore is just awesome, although he doesn't have a really big role in the film. I've just ordered Bright Young Things, his debut movie in Stephen Fry's debut directorial film. Hopefully, it will be more sparkling and witty than those period dramas.

films and fashion

first post.

this is a blog dedicated to films and fashion alike.
i'm just getting start in here, so hopefully things will get busier and more interesting.
So here it is ... I'll post film reviews and some fashion fads or maybe some books that I find inspiring. hope you'll like it.
That's all for today.

Ciao.