The Cannes film festival is in full swing, and this French film was its opening selection.
And it deserved to be, for it’s a clever, surrealistic work about cinema – fiction and reality in front of and behind the camera, narcissistic actors, and a possible future with AI looming over its creativity. It also touches on many topics, both serious and amusing, that jump in and out of the film and are often politically incorrect, making the whole thing a refreshing hoot.
It’s not easy describing this film – the trailer actually does a pretty good job of getting one confused, and curious. Five characters meander around in this film by the brilliant Quentin Dupieux whose imagination knows no bounds, and who is definitely an acquired taste. He just recently came out with “Daaali!”, a hilarious look at another genius of surrealism, Salvador Dali.
Dupieux’s creative powers are vast but his highly anticipated films are often mercifully short and to the point, as was his first crazy success, “Rubber”, about a killer tire that roams the California desert. Don’t ask…just try to see it, you might become a fan.
But, to the film – a young woman (Léa Seydoux) wants to introduce her boyfriend (Louis Garrel) to her father (Vincent Lindon) who decides he doesn’t want to be in the film nor recite his banal text because the world is going down the drain. In the meantime, the boyfriend wants to pawn off his lovely girlfriend to his buddy (Raphael Quenard) who is suspicious of the whole deal. And there’s also a very nervous owner (Manuel Guillot) of the café in the middle of nowhere, where they are all supposed to meet.
The ensemble acting is masterly, there’s a lot of walking, a lot of talking, and lots of surprises. Dupieux is simply an inventive genius.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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