Anna Karenina: A Study In Theatrical Cinema

Let me begin by explaining that I am not a big Keira Knightly fan, and yet I seem to LOVE the movies she is in. I get it, she's British, she's gorgeous, she's cheeky... there's just something about her that irritates me. HOWEVER... apparently when paired with a classic storyline, a BRILLIANT director and the most fabulous sets/costumes in... ever... she's a winner!

It's no secret that I am a sucker for great packaging and I will sit through multiple viewings of really tedious films to take a closer look at hairstyles, corsetry and set design. There is no question that Anna Karenina is opulent and extravagant in it's gilded and carved props and backdrops, but since we have now "been there, done that" a few times too many for that to be a draw in 2013, this film relies on an ingenious use of motion through the sets and scenes that is at once fluid and fractured to create a visually innovative masterpiece. Sets are manipulated on screen the way a theatrical play would be on a stage but with the actors moving through the sets as well as through the scenes.

As a Russian socialite in pre-Bolshevik Moscow, Anna travels to visit her philandering brother in an attempt to explain to her sister-in-law that it is in the woman's best interest to let him have his cake and eat it too while she cares for the brood. In one of those cinema norm string of coincidences, she meets the fabulously moustached Count Vronsky, who is near as well dressed as she is and almost as cocky. The two fall head over fur lined boots in love with the first glance and so begins the ruining of Anna.

The IMPORTANT part of this film is the return of the veiled hat, train travel, creative ballroom dancing and blue silk wallpaper. I'm not kidding, the tragedy of the storyline, the intensity of the passion... all well and good, but the choreography! It's gorgeous. And the blue room where Anna eventually loses her sanity, that alone is worth whatever they paid to have the film produced. Also I am taking up Ice Sledging. 

Anna Karenina isn't a new tale, but in the light of our fairly recent fascination of over the top grandeur and bolts of silk a la The Duchess, Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette et al... the way this movie was filmed is what sets it high above the rest of the aristocracy. Joe Wright isn't a name that I am overly familiar with, but surprisingly the man of the house knew immediately who he was, based on his direction of Hannah, which was equally refreshing, albeit a genre as far from opulence as one is likely to get. So I suppose it's fair to say I dig this guy's style. In 2007 he became the youngest director in history to have a film open the Venice Film Festival with Atonement. There also seems to be rather an obvious link between Wright and Knightly... which is sort of ironic.

This Bottle Marked Poison...

I was perusing and admiring "vintage" style apothecary labels in my search for Halloween decor awhile ago, and thought, (in my insatiable need to troll ebay) that buying some actual antique poison bottles would be cool. And they would be if any of them were marked POISON with the skull and crossbones that we have all come to know and... er... love.

It turns out that very few are marked that way, and most are not at all creepy looking! Not only that, but they are crazy tiny! Which, of course, makes sense because who really needs a gallon of poison in their medicine cabinet, right? A couple of drops will usually do it. Many are only two or three inches tall or smaller.

I did discover though, that they come in all colours and designs and are actually rather pretty. Also, they are not as expensive as I thought they would be, even two weeks before Halloween!

One of the things that is visually AND historically interesting about them is that they are all ridged or hobnailed. Apparently, due to the fact that many were in use at the turn of the last century or before, when gas lighting was in use (so reading labels wasn't always an easy task) and when most people's skill at reading was fairly basic, it was a good idea to have a tactile warning on the bottle, so you didn't slip your husband a teaspoon of nasty instead of cough tonic. Huh. Nifty!

The other thing that I think is pretty fab is that there is an entire world of OWL bottles! Being a lover of all things owl, I am particularly impressed with the choice of logo for the Owl Drug Company that started up in San Fransisco in 1892 (look at me all historian-like lately!) and used various depictions of owls embossed on their bottles.

The closest thing I found to scary (the way a drag queen in an onslaught of silver sequins is scary) is so far out of my price range it found its way into my "covet" file. Not because they cost from $2000 to $4000 apiece, but because they come in PURPLE and are shaped like SKULLS! How freaking awesome is that? Now I need one.

Obviously more time and energy is needed in the research department before diving into a collection of poison bottles... but they are definitely going on the list for next Halloween ;)

Ahoy

How amazing would it be to have bottles from an actual shipwreck in your study? These are 19th C and from the Netherlands., found in a shipwreck off the Java coast. They are hanging around at 1st Dibs... A site I should be kept from at all costs! Thank heavens I am not made of coin, although I dream of being able to outfit my future home with amazing pieces of furniture in that fashion. I think pieces with history are SO much more fun, not to mention the quality of the workmanship. I had to quit visiting the site last year when I found myself trying desperately to find a way to afford a pair of French lamps that were the exact ones that my grandparents had in their home years ago. This whole obsession was renewed last week when I visited one of my favourite blogs, the French Mouse. She has posted a photo on her "Country Mouse" House blog of the most glorious 18th century shop cabinet I have ever seen. This woman has infallible taste and I am completely jealous of her life. It is possible that I could afford a barnacle laden wine bottle though :)

WANT

Ohhh... if ONLY I had an extra $1800 kicking about. How the boys would LOVE this in their Tickle Trunk! Look at that gorgeous leather construction. This is just beautiful. I want. The word impractical comes to mind, buuuut.....

FORWARD MARCH!

OK, this is a bit out of step, and I really am trying to post more design inspired ditherings, but I keep getting distracted. I am on a mission! I was perusing the Candy Colored Budda just a bit ago and discovered a stunning room of chandeliers, at the Antiques Center of St. Louis, only to find that they will soon close their doors due to not enough foot traffic! Unless we do something about it. I am sending a bitty plea to all the blogs I can think of to ask them to post a short note about this beautiful and unique space. I think that it would be a shame to see this store go under and if we can perhaps draw some attention to it via the wonder of modern technology, maybe it can be saved. Call it the optimist in me...

I am nowhere near St. Louis and although I am putting this place on my list of places to visit if I ever find myself there, they also have an online presence here. Go and check them out and if you are in the market for a chandelier or an antique of any sort, why not ask them if they can help?