Steal a quick glance at Miu Miu’s latest film, and you’ll believe you’ve stepped into a wondrous fairy tale of magic and beauty with an innocent farm girl, an enchanted ball gown and most likely a prince waiting at a nearby castle. But the story goes much deeper than that. Rejecting the notion of fairy tales and magic, Les 3 Boutons, the tenth installment in the brand’s Women Tales series, carries us away from the farm to the streets of Paris. Here, heroines give up the allure of a Cinderella lifestyle for one of education and personal freedom.
Directed by Agnès Varda, Les 3 Boutons tells the story of Jasmine, a 14-year-old farm girl, who spends her days milking goats and feeding chickens. After receiving a package containing a magical gown (that’s at least three times her size) she rejects the notion of magic, noting that balls gown are only good for fairy tales and she would rather choose to live her own life. She then changes into her school uniform (her preferred dress of choice) and wanders into Paris. Her subsequent journey is one of self-empowerment, growth and discovery, but the three buttons that she loses along the way may end up holding a little magic of their own.
“I immediately saw the contradictory juxtaposition of farm life and haute couture,” Varda explained in a press release. “The most minimal element, the most essential one is the button. 3…2…1…go!” Starring newcomer Jasmine Thiré, the film was shot on location in Bonnieux and rue Daguerre, Paris where Varda lived for 50 years.
