In 1970s suburban Michigan, the five teenage sisters of the Lisbon family are the objects of infatuation and fantasy for neighbourhood boys. The girls are beautiful, mysterious, and strictly sheltered by their religious parents. Kirsten Dunst plays Lux, the rebellious sister who has an illicit tryst with heartthrob Trip Fontaine (Josh Harnett). In her directorial debut, Sofia Coppola finds her muse in Dunst, whose melancholic gaze and detached smile exemplify the impervious and bewitching nature of the central character. Coppola adapts Jeffrey Eugenides’s acclaimed novel of the same name into a film that is singularly moulded in her vision. The original soundtrack by the French band Air sets the tone for this youthful yet nostalgic fever dream.

Sofia Coppola (b. 1971, United States) started her career as an actor, most notably for her performance in her father Francis’s film, The Godfather Part III (1990), which was roundly derided by critics. She would later shed this image after becoming a writer-director in her own right. Her feature film debut The Virgin Suicides (1999) starring Kirsten Dunst was positively received. Her sophomore feature, Lost in Translation (2003), propelled her to elite status with an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and a nomination for Best Director. Marie Antoinette (2006), which reunited her with Dunst, premiered at Cannes Film Festival and has become a cult favourite since its initial release. Coppola won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with Somewhere (2010).