With its lush costumes, decadent food spreads and playfully anachronistic soundtrack, Sofia Coppola’s gorgeous 2006 film “Marie Antoinette” is a phenomenon of the aughts, a kaleidoscopic yet emotionally dark foray into youthful isolation and, like much of the filmmaker’s work, the bubble of privilege and celebrity. But while Coppola was making her third feature, what was gently shaping around her was hardly lonesome and gloomy. The pressure of a massive set with unprecedented access to Versailles and an intimidating production budget was alleviated by the presence and support of her family: her late mother Eleanor in particular, who was there to capture nearly 80 hours of behind-the-scenes footage to make something of it in the future.
Now, 20 years after the film’s release, we are treated to mother Coppola’s gorgeously assembled archival documentary, a project she and her daughter started in earnest during the early days of the Covid lockdown, and that Sofia finished upon her mom’s passing in 2024. (She and Aaron Matthews share editing credits.) Full of love throughout its compact runtime — love for art, filmmaking, beauty and, most of all, that between a mother and daughter — “Making Marie Antoinette” feels like the ultimate making-of movie, a creative artifact and a near-term historical record that grasps what it feels like to be seen and admired through the eyes of a proud parent. There is something sweetly nostalgic about watching this affectionate documentary, and sensing that Sofia always knows when her mom is around, like a kid who glances back to make sure that her parent is watching before she goes on to put her talents on display.
