90 years.

My favourite poet in the world is without a doubt Endre Ady. His words, filled with bittersweetness, passion and sometimes anger made me quit writing poems and read his works instead. I knew I could never, ever express what I feel in rhymes the way he did express things I feel as well. His personality, that mesmerized just about everyone around him, his genious, that should have never been questioned by everyone makes him the most important poet in the history of Hungarian literature. One of his friends, fellow writer Zsigmond Móricz wrote about him: "Many times I was just watching him all night, as he sat in the centre of his company, glowing and dazed. Eyes were sparkling at him and hearts were burning around him: for him, everyone wanted to seem more beautiful, more intelligent, more evil and more intoxicating and even the most balanced person created hysteria around oneself, just to live up to him."

Endre Ady, the epitome of what we call artist, died exactly 90 years ago in Budapest, after a long suffering from syphilis (though the exact reason of death was pneumonia that he got due to his weakness). He died young, at age 42; he lead a quite bohemian life, surrounded by countless women who served not only as bodies that could quench his thirst for love, but who also were muses, more or less important muses, with the unknown mission to inspire a soul that gave our literature the most beautiful poems of all time.

Made in Hungary.

Back in the old days, Hungary was one of the most important countries when it came to classical music. The most famous composers came to work for Hungarian nobles, not to mention the Hungarian composers themselves, who, with Ferenc Liszt, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály contributed to the world of music so much that it wouldn't be the same without them.
Today, when classical music is mostly only fashionable when it's turned into pop music by some sound mixing (sadly, 90% of the cases in a horrible way), there are two Hungarian musicians, both violin virtuoses, who are not only well-known worldwide, but for many years they were, also sadly, even more famous abroad.

1. Zoltán Mága
Thankfully, he tries to play the clean classical music, meaning without any pop elements but all the talent and joy he has when it comes to this field. His interpretations of Kalinka and other famous classical themes are dynamic and modern, yet they respect the old traditions. This is what is missing from many formations and individuals who wish to become popular in this genre and this is something only the most brilliant artists can do.
Also, he is an honest and softspoken person who often takes part in charity events.

Strauss: Radetzky March


Brahms: 5th Hungarian Dance


2. Edvin Marton
It's a shame that the first time I heard his name was when he performed with ice skater friend Evgeni Plushenko and nowadays he is about everywhere, both in the country and out of it. He was at the Heidi Klum-Seal wedding as a friend, he performed with Lou Bega and I could go on. Yet, his most famous and successful collaboration remains the one with Plushenko and I wouldn't say it's a pity since they really made a great duo.

Both videos below are the more pop version of a famous theme from Puccini's Tosca. I decided to put them here to demonstrate that the "distortion" of beautiful and classic things can also end up right and still beautiful, when touched by professional and respecting hands.

Nostalgic moments.

Who reads this blog frequently knows how much I love the following couple, Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz.
The first picture is from her 2007 Vogue shoot and the second is from an interview about her recent Oscar nomination, via El País.

20 years.

20 years ago, on the 23rd of January, the last great painter of the 20th century died. He was the last living legend from the innovative generations of the century, and probably the only one whose fame could approach Picasso's back when they both were active. His name is - Salvador Dalí.
I have some posts about him on this blog, starting with his autobiography, the brilliant The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí that perfectly shows that - apart from some exceptions - he was a man madly in love with himself and later his wife, Gala as well, until the post from a few days ago where I put here some pictures of his youth.

Dalí is legendary, not only for his art that was indescribably new and sometimes scandalous in his time, but also for the aforementioned love for himself. He lead a life most people would call crazy but considering the way his brain worked (judging by his also aforementioned writing), that was the only possible life for him to lead. He was convinced he was a king above all things, including death and not even in the final days of his life could he believe it might end some day.
There was nothing he was afraid to do or paint, there was no-one who could make him doubt his own abilities and there was no-one he would have traded his life with: "Every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí, and I ask myself, wonderstruck, what prodigious thing will he do today, this Salvador Dalí."
But, he was also a wise man deep down, with some romantic thoughts and a well defined philosophy (no matter how much he hated philosophy). Once he stated, "when your wife has pain in her left foot, you too have to feel pain in your left foot" and he is the man who also said the sentence I think is really true, "for me, love must be ugly, looks must be divine and death must be beautiful".
And yes, there were many who said he was crazy, but he was also right to say "The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." He did everything he did being perfectly aware of how extraordinary it was yet most of the time without trying too hard - that was his nature and he refused to change it.
This is how he could become one of the most iconic and acclaimed aritsts of the 20th century.

Valentino again.

I know I already have a post about (or related to) the Valentino book from Taschen but here's a new picture of it, and let me quote the complete description from the publisher's website:

Valentino and his models playing blind man's buff in the gardens of Château de Wideville. Harper's Bazaar USA, June 2007. (c) Jean-Paul Goude.

So, since it's from Harper's Bazaar, you might have already seen it but for me it was totally new and somehow got me.
And some news to those who - like me - couldn't get their hands on one of the €3000 or the €1250 limited edition copies of the book that Taschen is about to release a volume for "mere mortals", that will cost €50. I know it's still a bit pricey, especially considering the usual price range of great Taschen books but I believe they have a pretty good reason to sell it for this much, maybe it's the 576 pages, maybe it's the even higher quality, or most likely both, anyway, it's worth buying if you like Valentino and his gorgeous creations.

Top 3+1: The Coen Brothers.

What I like about directors is the way they see the world and how it can be seen in their movies. Only the greatest have that something that makes you know it must have been them behind the camera and the Coen brothers are on the list, since their quite bittersweet and very intelligent point of view can be easily recognized in most of their creations.

1. The Man Who Wasn't There
It's my favourite Coen movie of all time and it's also one of my favourite films on Earth. The cast is quite illustrous, with Billy Bob Thornton giving his - in my humble opinion - best performance of his career, with the young Scarlett Johansson and the great Frances McDormand as a cheating wife. A masterpiece.


2. No Country for Old Men
This film has a special atmosphere that might be inconvenient but it still is attractive. It's not the typical entertaining movie, it's something that makes you think, something that eats itself under your skin. With a frighteningly speechless Javier Bardem and his co-stars, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Josh Brolin and others, it is no wonder many claim it is one of the best of the century and THE best works of 2007.


3. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Retelling the - little bit altered - story of Odyssey, the brothers created a tale for adults. A tale, full of symbols, their special kind of humour and, of course, the best of the best actors. George Clooney (who, just like McDormand is a usual star in the Coen films), John Turturro, John Goodman and so on - it might be hard to digest for the first time, but afterwards you'll love this movie dearly.


+1: Intolerable Cruelty
This is the Coen movie that is a bit different from te others. It's pure comedy, with Catherine Zeta-Jones, George Clooney, Geoffrey Rush, Billy Bob Thornton and other big names. I think most of you have already seen it (a few times), so I don't need to explain why exactly it's worth that 100 minutes.

+notes: I was hesitating whether to put Burn After Reading on the third place, but I decided it's enough to talk about it here. It's great, as always, and Brad Pitt is the best in it. His character is so different from the ones he plays most of the time that it was pure joy just to watch him. And while I liked the aforementioned Top3 moives more than this, I do recommend it, because a. it's Coen, b. Brad is really amazing.
On a sidenote, in many cases Ethan Coen is not listed as a director, but it doesn't mean he wasn't there...

New layout.

To be honest, I have never planned to make a special "logo" for my blog but yesterday I just thought, 'why not?', so here it is. I wanted it to be black and white and because of this, I decided to change to whole layout.
I hope you like it like this, too.
As for the "collage", I wanted something that shows it's a blog about style, and that style means not only fashion (but, of course, my love for Chanel and other designers can be seen, just like read here) but other field of art and life itself as well. Style is the whole person, with all his/her knowledge, likes and dislikes, choice of words, obsessions and yes, appeareance.
Style is everything, style is eternal.

Miss Pettigrew lives for a day.

Nowadays I like to watch movies without knowing anything about their plot. The last example is Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day that I decided to watch because I like Frances McDormand and, most importantly, I loved its poster. Needles to say, I wasn't disappointed. I can't recall the last time I've seen a movie like this - it's whimsical, it's funny, entertaining and you never get bored while watching, not even for a minute. The end might be a bit predictable (but not from the beginning) yet it's impossible not to be impressed. On the other hand, the colours and the dresses are miraculous - you can see that by poster as well.
While most people call impossibly romantic movies "girly", I think Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day is what should be called girly. It might not become the favourite of a man, but I'm sure even they will find it great.
I know I have said it many times before (but after all, there are too many movies to like only one, right?), but Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day is definitely a must-see!

Latinovits.

Zoltán Latinovits was a Hungarian actor, one of the most famous and popular artists of the 20th century. It was not only his outstanding talent that made him legendary - it was also his rather mysterious personality that is often described as hard and depressed, and his love with actress Éva Ruttkai.

No matter whom he played - a mad major in The Toth Family, a Casanova in Sinbad, a doctor suffering a spiritual crisis in Cantata (directed by Miklós Jancsó, one of the most famous Hungarian directors of all time) or an outlaw in The Hopeless Ones (also directed by Jancsó), he had that something that mesmerized everyone, regardless to age or gender.

He died at the young age of 44 when a train crashed him. The circumstances of his death are still unknown, some say it was suicide, some say it was an accident. Either way, the death of the sensible artist and the great actor was a shock for everyone.

Below is an excerpt from his letter to Ruttkai, a letter that shows how emotional, hopeless and devoted he was.

"I am waiting for you to say: be calm, I am and will be for You. We have to blow warmth on each other. We have to bound each other with love-ropes. The world is cold. The fires will be tamed. The fire is needed. The light is needed. We need one another. Let the storm rush us to each other. Let the silence chase us to each other. Don't let us grow cold. Because alone, alone it's so abhorrent..."

With Eva Ruttkai, the love of his life

In pictures: Dalí before the Moustache.

When you mention the name of Salvador Dalí, most of the time you get the words "mad" and "brilliant" as an answer. No wonder, Dalí was a man who wanted to stand out not only with his art but also with his presence, his look, his acts. But, of course, there were years before the crazy moustache and even if his personality was quite like it was after becoming a living legend (if we can believe his notes), one thing is for sure: back then he might have been a genious in process, but he was also a young and handsome Spanish man, madly in love with Gala.

The "Sofia Coppola girl"

If there's such a thing as a "Chloé girl" or a "Miu Miu girl", then I think it's about time to introduce the "Sofia Coppola girl". It's enough to look at any of her movies to see the similarities - a young, blonde, whimsical girl, who's the spitting image of Kirsten Dunst (in not-so-trashy outfits). This is how the girls in Virgin Suicides looked like, more or less this is what Charlotte's character was based on in Lost in Translation, not to mention Marie Antoinette. Apart from the looks, the "Sofia Coppola girl" adores colourful and tasty cakes (once again, Marie Antoinette), and what other background could a girl like this have than Paris?
So, Coppola's latest creation, this time an ad for Dior, is something very much like the official introduction of the "Sofia Coppola girl". This introduction is the result of a process that started with the aforementioned Virgin Suicides and became almost complete with Marie Antoinette. Only modernization was needed to complete the maybe unintentional mission and with this modernization came the scent that's on the top list of many young girls of our age.

Crna macka, beli macor

In English, it's Black Cat White Cat and for your information, it's one of the gems of European cinema and probably the best from an Eastern director, Emir Kusturica. He is the man with the imagination and irony no-one ever find offensive and that everyone finds entertaining. His works about the gypsy life does not tend to ruin the clichés, and this is why they are simply brilliant. Black Cat White Cat is the most famous of all, no wonder why.
In my country, it's a cult movie - everyone knows it along with is music, and everyone can quote at least a line or can remember at least one scene.
The movie's signature song, performed by Goran Bregovic has been translated to many languages, yet the essence of it remains.