This unusual film opens in Paris in 1913 where a large throng of devoted ballet lovers have gathered for the premier of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky's (Mads Mikkelsen) The Rite of Spring. He is nervous about what will happen since he knows how difficult it is to introduce the public to art that is outside of the box. His Russian wife Catherine (Elena Morozova) assures him that everything will be fine. Used to Swan Lake and other traditional ballets, the audience explodes in disgust and anger at both the discordant music and the robotic dancing of the Ballet Russes. They leave the theatre enraged for having to witness such a garish spectacle. In the audience in a white dress is Coco Channel (Anna Mouglalis), a proud and independent woman who is impressed with Stravinsky's creative genius. For her the evening is a triumph and a hint of something to come.
It only takes seven years for the dance between these two gifted people to unfold. In 1920, Coco is introduced to Stravinsky at a party by Sergeo Diaghilev (Grigori Manoukov), impresario of the Ballet Russes. She later invites the poverty-stricken Russian composer to live at her villa, Bel Respiro, outside Paris with his wife and four children. Having made a lot of money in fashion, Coco wants to be his patron and make it possible for him to nurture his musical genius in a peaceful and beautiful setting. She is also attracted to Stravinsky's quiet intensity.
Eventually, the patron and the artist's repressed passion for one another surfaces and they become lovers. Catherine, now sick with consumption, knows about the affair and is convinced that Coco is a collector of people who uses them for her own purposes and then abandons them when she is done. Stravinsky's revitalized sex life brings fresh dynamism to his new music and he is for a while, very happy with this arrangement. Meanwhile, Coco, a savvy business woman, is testing fragrances for a new perfume which will eventually become Chanel 5.
Jan Kounen directs this biopicture by making the most out of the clothes and the sumptuous villa where Coco's delight in black and white is accentuated. He also lets us see the sparks fly as these two creative individuals test, inspire, and frustrate each other in a very heated-up sexual relationship.
Special features include a featurette, "The Making of Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky."
