Grigori Manoukov as Sergei Diaghilev Rasha Bukvic as Grand Duke Dmitri Erick Demarestz as The Doctor Nicolas Vaude as Ernest Beaux Anatole Taubman as Boy Capel Maxime Danielou as Theodore Sophie Hasson as Ludmila Nikita Ponomarenko as Soulima Stravinsky Clara Guelblum as Milene Olivier Claverie as Joseph Catherine Davenier as Marie Marek Kossakowski as Vaslav Nijinsky Jérôme Pillement as Pierre Monteux David Tomaszewski as Principal Violinist Marek Tomaszewski as Pianist Anton Yakovlev as Piotr Irina Vavilova as The Governess Julie Farenc Deramond as Julie the salesgirl Emy Levy and Sarah Jérôme as Workshop girls Tina Sportolaro as Beaux's secretary Michel Ruhl as The Baron Pierre Chidyvar, Agnès Vikouloff and Sacha Vikouloff as Russian musicians David Baschung as The Doctor Cyril Accorsi, Matthieu Bajolet, Caroline Baudouin, Bruno Benne, Jonathan Ber, Laura Biasse, Barbara Caillieu, Marie-Laure Caradec, Damien Dreux, Sophie Gérard, Patrick Harlay, Inès Hernandez, Anne Laurent, Thibaud Le Maguer, Anne Lenglet, Olivier Normand, Florent Otello, Edouard Pelleray, Judith Perron, Pascal Queneau, Enora Rivère, Julie Salgues, Jonathan Schatz, Wu Zheng (dancers in The Rite of Spring) Reception Reviews were mixed. Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film was "cool, elegant and sexy…. But the film … never regains that initial blast of energy and the final scenes wobble toward a wishy-washy ending." Writing for DVD Talk, Casey Burchby praises the "extraordinarily bold" opening sequence that recreates the Paris premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Modestas Mankus from Our Culture Mag gave the film 3/5 stars saying "stumbled through its unclear presentation but gave us a look into the world of two greats." Historical context The riotous premiere of The Rite of Spring at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913 is legendary (see: The Rite of Spring#Premiere). In the spring of 1920, Chanel was introduced to Stravinsky by Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes. During the summer, Chanel discovered that the Stravinsky family was seeking a place to live. She invited them to her new home, "Bel Respiro," in the Paris suburb of Garches until they could find a more suitable residence. They arrived at "Bel Respiro" during the second week of September and remained until May 1921. Chanel also guaranteed the 1920 Ballets Russes production of The Rite of Spring against financial loss with an anonymous gift to Diaghilev, said to be 300,000 francs. The personal relationships depicted in the film are largely fictionalized. Stravinsky