Irma Vep

For people who criticize French film for being boring, self-referential, elitist-bourgeois-art-house-film-crap - this particular French film - explores the pitfalls of French culture, cinema and the French film-culture as well. Of course, it's done in a fashion that probably will confirm your worst expectations about French film - but no stone is left unturned and everything is beautifully evened by the fact, that every character is completely indifferent toward anything - film in particular.

Michelle's Catwoman, JCVD, silent cinema, Woo, the greatest friendzone ever shot in a film about a film, a troubled remake ended with the craziest editing of all time, a chinese action star, a filmmaker's meltdown, the chinese actress stealing a jewelry to really feel like Irma, Sonic Youth, Bonnie and Clyde, french cinema is made for intellectuals -- is it? Not this one. And yet, it's bright, careful and more zeitgeisty than most self-conscious, pretentious pictures about cinema or modern life.

Thank god Cheung spends alot of screen time in latex otherwise this film would have nothing. It's Stereotypical Arthouse Nonsense w/ nothing less than a film-w/in-a-film setting & a chain of (uninteresting) events in the lives of realistic (&uninteresing) characters in the service of posing a series of cliche questions: what is "Art"? What is "Real"? No thought of course, smug in the assurance that it's provided enough of a springboard for the viewer's Journal of Seriously Serious Cinema essay.

Being a comic film about a movie production, and also starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, obviously it brings Day for Night to mind. I think I like this a little more than Truffaut's film actually. There were some very funny moments, and a good soundtrack too (Sonic Youth and Serge Gainsbourg). The scene of Maggie Cheung slipping into her latex catsuit and prowling the hotel was superb. I do wish I'd had a chance to see Les Vampires before watching this.

Works well in individual moments (and Cheung's performance, a slightly dazed study of bemusement is quite wonderful), but its pretentious discussion/dissection of "art" cinema means it almost disappears up its own proverbial, and ultimately the self-serious navel gazing makes it a minor chore to sit through by a certain point. The Lynchian finale, where we see the fruits of everyone's endeavours, is quite bracing and haunting.

Maggie's great and all but can we talk about Natalie Richard? Couldn't take my eyes off her.

A great postmodernist film on film, identity, authenticity, tradition, east-west, desire, and many other things. Cheung as the empty signifier, the literal Orient as an orientalized Westerner (if Hong-Kong is the west of the East), and the object of desire. A meditation on French cinema's legacy. 1915, the New Wave (recall them watching cinéma militant), and how to go beyond it in post 1990 globalized world. Also, the experimental-sensual joy of the last sequence. Unique and masterful.

A weird one. The outsider's perspective brought by Maggie Cheung to this loving self-portrait of the chaos of French film-making, is one of the things that just works about this film. It's haphazard and unstructured and free-form, and the film-within-a-film-within-a-film thing going on gives an air of metatextual intellectualism to it that works only on a semi-conscious level. A hard one to grasp, but ultimately one of the key films both in Assayas' oeuvre and in French cinema of the period.

A hilarious and thrilling satire about French cinema. Like all great satire, it walks the line of becoming its target so well, which only makes it a better film. The ending is absolutely brilliant.

My first real encounter with Assayas: Teasing, irreverent, fragmented, associational, tender, beautiful people, full of (half-baked) ideas, metafictional, less is more.

"The post-modern compulsions on display here may bring movies together, but they also keep people apart." - Fernando F. Croce

# 843

good movie

Some elements work really well, others do not. I'm guessing a second viewing would clear it up.

The movie describes itself 2/3rds of the way through as a masturbatory intellectual project that audiences will hate. Points for self awareness

A satirical/introspective look at French cinema with its snobbery and importance in film history in the crosshairs. Assayas's writing prowess is incredible here with something so unique yet accessible. Weird and engaging.

A bit too slow and grating for most of the time, but certainly has its moments. And Cheung is great.

Ironically, remade by Sofia Coppola as Lost In Translation.

Maggie Cheung is so goddamned iconic

i like only this and l'heure d'été. assayas needs to take a hard look at his cinema before he makes anything new :/

why would anyone watch an assayas movie when carax exists?

Irma Vep estreava há 25 anos no Festival de Cannes. As presenças aqui de Lou Castel e Jean-Pierre Léaud deixam claro a quem Assayas deve esse filme, protagonistas de Precaução Ante uma Prostituta de Fassbinder e A Noite Americana de Truffaut, filmes lendários sobre os bastidores de uma filmagem, transcende a questão do revitar Louis Feuillade em si. BlurayRip no MakingOff.

Most of the movie is the particularly French navel-gazing about creating Art, and somehow that involves a beautiful Maggie Cheung in latex. It all felt like one big inside joke, except I very much felt an outsider to that conversation. The last few minutes crank up to 11 with an insane avant-garde Nouvelle Vague mini-movie that helped to ease the tedium from the rest of the film.

I think some (if not most) of the allusions to the state and history of French cinema were lost on me, but it was an enjoyably weird movie experience nonetheless.

An impressive and distinctive production that criticizes both American cinema and its own (French) cinema. It gives very good anecdotes about the production process of the movie. I can recommend any artist who tells a story with visuals to watch Irma Vep. Especially to see the change of the director's idea in the movie. Tim Burton's Batman movie was called bad, but despite that, I loved this movie. Finally, Cheung was so cute and Khanjian was too ;)

I would propose to Maggie Cheung after making this movie with her, too

A nice slice of life behind the scenes of French cinema. Fav scene: the self-referential interview.

Desultory and self-referential. I guess one had to be familiar with the behind-the-scenes of french movies to really get everything. On the plus sides, some tracking shots are absolutely wonderful.

i don't think any movie has ever gotten me as excited about the possibilities of cinema as this

2nd watch after 20+ years. It’s fully built around Maggie Cheung, who is beautiful and sympathetic playing a heightened version of herself in the midst of French film scene. Storywise it’s nothing special and I don’t think it amounts to much; but it has an interesting mood and acting is fine - especially Richard and Leaud; and the film within the film with Cheung as Irma Vep is cool. It also nowadays works as a timecapsule of 90’s French boheme apartments filled with books and VHS tapes.

16 Agost 2016 - El principi m'ha interessat. Aviat ha decaigut, perdent-se en discussions sobre la pel·lícula dins de la pel·lícula que em semblaven insubstancials. Moments pretenciosos, amb massa aspiracions poètiques artificioses i personatges ridículs. No hi trobo cap experiència gaire vital.

Hard to write something about this. A film about making film that is half about interpersonal drama but full of other weird little quirks.It worked for me mostly because of Maggie Cheung who is the audience's surrogate providing a glimpse into the madness.

Neden kendime bu eziyeti çektirdim, bilmiyorum.

Assayas has a special interest and talent in working with actresses. In none this is more evident than his breakthrough hit Irma Vep. A movie about an actress featuring an amazing performance by one. Like almost everything Assayas does this feels all very natural and real. So natural, that at times I wasn't sure I wasn't watching the real Maggie Cheung just having to improvise as herself on the spot. It's also a very biting satire on French cinema meanwhile. (2nd viewing)

im an unintellectual punk and i don't know anything about french film if it doesn't involve luc besson, but i was still thoroughly and successfully entertained by this.

I was sold this film as some sort of psycho fantasy but switched off when it turned out to be self-indulgent and glacially paced tosh

Really good. Nice life for Maggie Cheung playing herself as a very down-to-earth, sympathetic person in a film also merrily celebrating her external beauty.

Fun. Better than Summer Hours (yawn).

I admit I have a weakness towards movies about movies and especially mockumentary style in general. I get drawn in instantly and care attention to every detail more than normal. Irma Vep is no different. Blending of extra footage has pretty good timing and enrichens the experience. Not an extraordinary example in this narrow subgenre, but enjoyable all along. Leaud is fantastic, Cheung is a delight to look at. I wonder if there are Julie Delpy clones in France like the lesbian costume designer.

Saw this at time of release. Was convinced then that the director was a fraud. Avoided his movies for a decade. In 2009, saw two more, DEMONLOVER and BOARDING GATE. I should have continued the policy of avoidance.