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Irma Vep
*Premiere*
The International Art Film Smash, Starring Maggie Cheung!
"A deliciously knowing comedy about the insanity of shooting a film." -- Film Comment
A wonderful look behind the scenes of the French movie business, featuring a way-hip soundtrack (Luna's version of Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde," for example) and a star turn from the luminous Maggie Cheung. "No better commentary on the state of cinema today could be found than Oliver Assayas" Irma Vep, a deliciously knowing comedy about the insanity of shooting a film... A blocked director (Jean-Pierre LŽaud) gets the bright idea of remaking Feuillade's silent serial Les Vampires, casting Chinese actress Maggie Cheung in the part of Irma. "Maggie" conveys herself with thorough professionalism, in comic contrast to the self-absorbed French characters. Everyone on the crew kibitzes and criticizes their boss' efforts, wanting him to get more "political" or "personal." One hilarious scene features an asshole interviewer who loves John Woo movies and despises the subsidized French art cinema... Maggie, the ostensible centre of all this energy, everyoneÕs love object, is in another sense ignored, invisible, as she passes through the wreckage of ego and pretension. What keeps the satire fun is its furious pace; the film seems to have been shot very fast, with handheld, documentary-style camera and improvisatory touches..." -- Philip Lopate, Film Comment "I wouldn't want to jinx the miraculous revival of low-budget, free-wheeling, film-smart French cinema but -- zut alors! -- if it's not already here. Irma Vep isn't only about making movies -- it demonstrates that making real ones is still possible." -- J. Hoberman, Village Voice.
(France, 1996, subtitles, 98 min.)
Classification: TBA
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