Why The Virgin Suicides Coppola didn't solve the girls' Enigma in ``The Virgin Suicides''

Enigma called adolescence

However, Sofia Coppola's good sense is shown to the fullest in neither pop culture nor girly items. It was a presentation of how the mysterious existence of girls and the strange season of adolescence are themselves enigmas (mysteries).

The Virgin Suicides is not written from the perspective of the five sisters, but from the perspective of the boys who have been watching them from afar. In other words, the story is told from a "third person" perspective, which makes it impossible to access the inner world of the girls. Therefore, the reason why the beautiful sisters chose to die is not revealed until the end. Or, to be precise, it is incomprehensible. When the doctor asks why the youngest daughter, Cecilia, who attempted suicide, why she did it, she replies, "I'm not a 13-year-old girl." This is the whole answer. Something that only adolescent girls can understand, something that cannot be easily put into words, exhausted her, disillusioned her, made her despair, and drove her to death.

Sofia Coppola ends the story with only the open and incomprehensible equation of "girl = mystery" revealed. Even though the original novel delves into that mystery. This sense of storytelling is the biggest factor that made "The Virgin Suicides" a classic of girly movies.

Relying on her keen nose, Sofia entered the film industry, and went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Somewhere (2010). She has firmly established herself as a filmmaker in both name and reality.

At the 76th Academy Awards ceremony, Francis Ford Coppola appeared as a presenter and said to Sofia, "You've finally taken over the family business," imitating Marlon Brando (Vito Corleone from The The Father ). Perhaps that day was the historic moment when the boss of the Coppola family was handed over from father to daughter.

Reference material: Eureka March 2018 issue “Special feature: Sofia Coppola”

Text: Rui Takeshima

A pop culture writer who wants to be kicked by Hit Girl. Host of the web magazine " POP MASTER ".

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