Following the footsteps of Nicole Kidman, actress Audrey Tautou will step into the starring role of a Jean-Pierre Jeunet-directed commercial for Chanel No. 5

The theme is missed encounters between strangers — played by Tautou and model Travis Davenport — as they ride the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul.

There is no dialogue, only the vivid color imagery Jeunet is known for: as Billie Holiday’s “I’m a Fool to Want You” plays, he lingers outside her train cabin, and later, in Istanbul, she misses the riverboat he is on, only to photograph him on deck from another ship later.

Finally, they meet, embracing atop a mosaic of Chanel’s double-C logo.

A teaser will debut in late April on chaneln5.com, around the same time Audrey’s film Coco Chanel Avant premieres in France, although Chanel executives insist the timing is just a coincidence.

The full film launches on the internet May 5, and will air on TV in shorter versions, followed by an print ad shot by Dominique Isserman.

As the synopsis goes: “In an orphanage, silently standing next to a perfectly made bed, is a frail and slender ten year old girl with thick black hair. Gabrielle Chanel, known as Coco, and her many lives. The story of the path taken by Coco from her obscure beginnings to the blinding lights of Paris.” I’ve seen a Chanel film from the ’80s and recently saw a play so I’m excited to add this to my Chanel viewing repertoire. Oh, and jazzed to see Fabcon Audrey Tautou as Coco of course.