18 May 2007

The African Queen

I love this article from US Vogue, June 2007, featuring Keira Knightley and photographed by Arthur Elgort. Oh the clothes! the landscape!

{The View From Here | From a rock that marks the Kenya-Tanzania border, Knightley takes in the Masai Mara Game Reserve, named for its stewards, the Masai. "I thought I was going to fly off the stone," she writes of this photograph in the journal she kept of her week-long trip. Madewell shirt jacket. Thakoon parachute skirt. Timberland boots.}

{Puss 'n' Boots | Left: Piki Piki, the mascot of Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp, keeps the actress company in the mess tent, decorated with sepia photographs of the owner's family members. Marc Jacobs ruffled smock dress. Frye boots.
Watering Hole | Right: "We drove to this amazing river after lunch, chocolate brown with an enormous tree hanging over it. I felt like a water nymph." DKNY tank dress. Hunter boots.}

{Off-Roading | Left: William Cowell, a Cottar's guide, frees the Jeep from mud left by a recent rainstorm. YSL cotton-poplin dress. Roberto Cavalli hat.
African Queen | Right: Camouflaged by a sand-colored shirtdress among the African grasses, Knightley spots a pride of seven lions. "We watched them as the sun disappeared," she writes. 3.1 Phillip Lim dress. Banana Republic belt.}

{Bathing Beauty | Left: "A good float in some water can be like a gift from the gods," Knightley remarks of a splash in the camp pool. A Louis Vuitton baby doll maillot flaunts feminine details of ruffles and lace.
Serene Pastures | Right: Bushwalking in a Peter Som ivory linen riding skirt. Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons tuxedo blouse. Lock & Co. hat.}

{Nomad's Land | "I had to herd cows with the Masai," Knightley records. "We were expecting three; we got an entire herd." Marc Jacobs tiered dress. Hermès hat.}

{All Creatures Great and Small | Knightley feeds an orphaned elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. "There were three of them, and they were all so cheeky, rolling around in the dust and trying to knock us all over." Bottega Veneta dress. Frye boots.}

{Fringe Benefits | Left: With a flash of crimson, Knightley makes like the Masai, whose warriors wear red. Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière shirt, pants, and shawl.
The Navigator | Right: Playing the governor's daughter turned swashbuckler Elizabeth Swann for the third time this month, London-born Knightley was happy to trade in her breeches and tricorne hat for this Malibu topper and pencil skirt. Rag & Bone jacket and skirt. Plane courtesy of Boskovic Air Charters.}

{The Daytrippers | For a game drive with the Masai and guides, the look is 1930s retro cool. Sundress, Comme des Garçons.}

10 May 2007

21st


18 April 2007

Film | The Royal Tenenbaums

2001 | 108min | Color | USA Drama-Comedy

An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when one of their member announces he has a terminal illness.

  DIRECTOR  
Wes Andserson

  SCREENPLAY  
Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson

  CAST  
Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray

  OSCAR NOMINATION  
Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson (screenplay)

  BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL  
Wes Anderson Nomination (Golden Bear)

  REVIEWS  
"With a distinctive visual style that steers clear of the gross plagiarism of many post-Tarantino thirtysomething directors, Anderson sets himself apart from most of his contemporaries. His work is as refreshing and visually inspiring as any Coen brothers' film and restores faith in the idea that Hollywood can still produce an idiosyncratic black comedy once in a while."
-- Peter Homden (Contemporary North American Film Directors, 2002)

  IMPRESSIONS  
  • This film changed my life, and it confirmed my desire to become a film director. I have watched it so many times it's ridiculous.
Narration | Non-diegetis voiceover functions as a form of direct address, and allows Anderson to offer explicit commentary on the image.

Costume | The three Tenenbaum children where the same clothing when they're adults as they did when they were growing up - humourously suggesting their arrested development.
  • Ritchie (Luke Wilson), the tennis prodigy, wears tennis sweatbands.

  • Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) wears a fur coat.

  • Chaz (Ben Stiller) wears a tracksuit all the time and dresses his two sons the same way.

Speech | Ben Stiller talks in quick bursts, suggesting the characters' hysterical anxiety. Woody Allen does the same thing.

Music | A lot of the music in the film has vast cultural significance. After Richie Tenenbaum unsuccessfully attempts to commit suicide, Nick Drake's recording of "Fly" plays softly in the background. The fact that Nick Drake commited suicide himself adds poignancy to the scene beyond the melancholy of the actual tune itself.