By Manasi Nene
Sofia Coppola has won this year’s Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming only the second woman ever to receive the honour. The last time a woman won was when Yuliya Solntseva won in 1961 for her film The Story of the Flaming Years.
Coppola’s film, The Beguiled, is a remake of the 1971 film of the same name. That film was based on a book was written by Thomas Cullinan in 1966, and originally released as A Painted Devil. The story revolves around a Union soldier, hurt in the Civil War, who is taken in by a group of women at a girls’ school in the Southern United States. The film features a strong cast as well – Colin Ferrel, playing the soldier is taken in by Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning, who all live in a girls’ boarding school.
Though the movie hasn’t been released in theatres yet, the trailer and reviews promise its “female empowerment angle” – it is rare to see to see a film depict women as sexually independent without being promiscuous, and The Beguiled looks like it does precisely that. Elle Fanning describes the vibe on set as “kind of like girlfriends hanging out”, a pretty significant statement in any environment that tries to experiment with gender politics. Already described as a “feminist psychodrama”, this film will not be released till 30th June – we can’t wait to see it.