Arbaaz Shroff’s review published on Letterboxd:
Rene ~ "Mira... Do you believe.. in the invisible?"
Mira ~ "The invisible. I.. guess so. I mean, it depends on what you call invisible."
Rene ~ "Things that exist... but you cannot see."
Mira ~ "Like what?"
Rene ~ "Like, uh... Wi-Fi"
"Movies are a portal to some sort of spiritual world."
"No genuine art stems from confidence."
Olivier really went for it with the "meta" in metaphysical..
Without a doubt the best thing I've seen in 2022 so far. Assayas has a niche audience, and as much as that bothers me because he's one of our greatest living filmmakers, I've also realized there's something special to that.. or how I like to say, "recognizing excellence is as rare as excellence itself."
I can go on & on about so many aspects of Irma Vep I admire, right from how its so extreme yet so effortless in being meta, to it's achingly vulnerable & downright hilarious performances, to how it's a tribute to cinema & everyone involved with it, including audiences, and to how there's so much originality & inventiveness in narrative structure, unlike anything you'll come across.
Vincent Macaigne as René Vidal puts in a performance that'll be really difficult to match this year. Down to the smallest sounds he makes, I was completely hooked by how disarmingly honest his character seemed to be. Obviously, nothing would've worked without the magic Alicia Vikander conjures up in this, a very very tough part to play, almost a contradiction of Maggie Cheung's performance in some ways, wherein she might even come across as a little detached and unlikable in the beginning, but that's what made it interesting for me. Actually Assayas is smart enough to literally add cross-dissolves between the two actresses playing Irma Vep, which was a real high-point of the story.
If you already love Olivier Assayas, then you'll most likely eat this up, if you're not into him, then well, your opinion really doesn't hold any value for me. Beyond Irma Vep, this had parallels with Olivier's work as a whole, especially Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, almost feeling as if it's sort of like his own cinematic universe, and hardcore fans will really enjoy every bit of whatever goes on.
My list of 2022 Favourites
