Inspired by tragic news, this film marked the birth of a great director!

There are films that, despite the years that have passed, leave good memories. This is the case of Virgin Suicides, which was released in France in September 2000 and is being re-released in theaters this Wednesday, July 12 in a restored 4K version.

From Sofia Coppola’s first film – who was then twenty-eight years old – no one has forgotten the golden hair of the Lisbon sisters, played by Kirsten Dunst, AJ Cook, Hannah Hall, Leslie Heyman and Chelsea Swain, the face of the heartthrob. Trip Fontaine performed by Josh Hartnett, or the soundtrack composed by the French band Air.

United States, 1970. Cecilia Lisbon, the youngest of five daughters, has just attempted suicide. In order to change the mind of the youngest son, the parents agree to organize a party to which the boys in the neighborhood, who have always been fascinated by these five amazingly beautiful sisters, are invited.

This evening, Cecilia throws herself out of the window. From then on, the Lisbon girls, four in number, are increasingly suffocated by their overprotective parents, until the final tragedy…

To celebrate the theatrical release of this iconic film, take a look back at the history of the feature film’s production.

A book inspired by a tragic true story

The feature film is adapted from the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, published in 1993. Virgin suicides, which is based on a true story. In the mid-1970s, five young girls from an ultra-conservative family committed suicide. Their decision remains secret.

Originally, the adaptation of this novel was to be shot by another director, whose name is unknown. Months pass and finally the project is in several hands. Sofia Coppola, who is very attached to the book, realizes the difficulties that producers face in finding the right director and the right script, and decides to take care of it herself.

“I was really bored of making this movie, so I sat down with them to see my version.“, he explains Entertainment Weekly.

“I heard that the other director was doing something dark and I wanted to bring light, that’s how I envisioned it when I read the book… and then they gave me my chance. !”

“This is the book I want to write”

In 2000, the film’s press kit featured an interview of the young filmmaker with Susanna Hawes. Sofia Coppola He explained more precisely what attracted him to the work of Geoffrey Eugenides.

“If I were a writer, this is the book I would want to write. I really liked how Geoffrey talks about the conflict between adulthood and childhood. He knows how to be funny in the most tragic moments and never backs down, which may seem inappropriate, such as when the boy thanks his parents in Lisbon for the night of Cecilia’s death.

The book is wonderfully written and the love story is always fun. And then there’s also this unique way of evoking something that’s gone, whether it’s an era, a person, or an innocence. I felt that he shared my feeling, and I think everyone does…”

The cinematic version of the novel was voiced by the author himself, who will say after watching the film: “Out of all the adaptations, Sofia’s adaptation was the most well-constructed. I think it’s more interested in the girls’ own story than the boys’ point of view, so it gives the story different nuances. . . I was more interested in writing the novel. The girls and Sofia understood that very well.”

Limited budget, express shooting

This coming-of-age film was shot in less than a month—twenty-seven days to be exact. However, nothing was won.

A week before the first clapperboard, the financing of the film failed. Without disappointment, Sofia Coppola and her team were able to find new resources, but they have a limited budget of six million dollars.

The director stated this in an interview The Guardian, that one of the biggest challenges was creating a period piece with so little money. “Fortunately, I had the support of such experienced and respected actors James Woods and Kathleen Turner,” she relates.

Advice from dad

The daughter of the great Francis Ford Coppola, the director was able to rely on her father’s kindness and advice to support her.

Virgin Suicides is also produced by the family company American Zoetrope, which was created in 1969 for the film The People of the Rain.

When the famous director came to his daughter for the first time on the set, he advised her to say “Action!” Louder so everyone knew he was in charge. To which Sofia Coppola replied:Father, let me do my way.”

While the film was produced by Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia included other members of her family in her first feature film. Thus, his brother Roman Coppola is the director of the second division and his cousin Robert Schwartzman portrays one of the boys from the neighborhood, young Paul Baldino.

The birth of a beautiful friendship

In addition to the first experience as a director and screenwriter, Sofia Coppola signs with the film the beginning of a beautiful and great friendship with the actor. Kirsten Dunstwho plays the main character, Lux Lisbon.

The film director made her a favorite actress and later collaborated with her several times: Marie Antoinette, in which the star played the title role in Les Preies or The Bling Ring with a small cameo.

While promoting Les Preies in 2017, the director also confided in the magazine he : “Besides her acting talent, Kirsten is an artist in whom I have absolute confidence. We’ve been friends for years. She’s a bit like my little sister, I’ve seen her grow up in my films, she knows my sensitivity, my sense of humor. With her, there’s no need to Explaining what I want. It keeps everything in place.”

A confidential release for the iconic film

Presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes in 1999, Virgin Suicides captivated many audiences and received critical acclaim. In French cinemas, it amassed no less than 480,536 admissions by the end of its run. Great figures for a first film that is more independent.

But in the United States, it’s a different story. “Despite this reception, almost no one has seen it in America. It had a miserable exit and then disappeared from cinemas” I feel sorry for the filmmaker. On American soil, Virgin Suicides grossed just under five million dollars and earned $10.4 million at the international box office.

However, shortly after its release on video, the film offers us a second life and after 23 years enjoys the status of a cult film – deservedly so.

With this first feature film, Sofia Coppola establishes the basis of her cinema: adolescence and the difficult path to adulthood, the soundtrack in perfect symbiosis with the image and the sadness that shines in each frame.

Virgin suicides Rediscovered in theaters this Wednesday in a restored 4K version.