IRMA VEP
SYNOPSIS:
Hong Kong action diva Maggie Cheung plays herself in this satire
on contemporary French cinema. Cheung has the lead role as a
latex-suited reincarnation of Irma Vep, the super-criminaline of
Feuillade’s silent 1915 serial of jewel thieves in Paris,
called Les Vampires (Irma Vep …VampIre . . . get it?).
However, from day one on the set, Cheung senses that the
ambitious project is balancing on the fine line between success
and disaster; the crew bicker, the director despairs of realising
his vision and the producer is on a war path with everyone.
Cheung is left adrift with only the friendship of a persecuted
lesbian wardrobe mistress to lean on. In the end, Rene, the
director (Jean-Pierre Leaud) has a nervous breakdown and has to
be replaced – with a director who hates the idea of a
Chinese Irma Vep.
"Assayas’ notes to this film explain how the
inspiration for it was knowing Maggie Cheung, whom he had met at
a film festival. He put the idea of Les Vampires together with
Cheung, and developed it from there. In developing ideas from
such a narrow base, the filmmaker ran the risk of getting
nowhere. As he himself states, "Irma Vep was never a
sensible idea." In the end, he has made a thin movie
characterised by lots of imaginative ideas looking for glue, and
the usually excellent performances of some fine French actors
– who can give meaning to smoking a cigarette, even if
nobody knows what that is. Maggie Cheung herself is actually
terrific in this, partly because Assayas uses a partly improvised
filmmaking style (a little like Australia’s Bill Bennett
[Kiss or Kill]), which gives her lots of freedom, and partly
because of her extensive experience. She has a staggering 13 year
filmography, mainly of Hong Kong action films, that exceeds 70
film roles. Cheung is natural, likeable and as curious about it
all as we the audience. Irma Vep has some appealing scenes and
also some infuriatingly senseless ones – such as a hotel
room jewellery theft in which Maggie Cheung seems to be playing
out her character’s role in real life. But who knows why.
Still, I found it quite entertaining."
Andrew L. Urban
"Made in exactly four weeks under a very tight budget,
the film evolved as a project of love, based on a simple desire
to make a film with Cheung, as Andrew points out above. Although
there is certainly much to enjoy in Irma Vep, as it weaves in and
out of reality, combining the complexities of the film-making
process with artistic temperament, it goes nowhere, and leaves
the audience high and dry. But maybe that’s the idea.
Perhaps Assayas’ idea, with a bit of seasoning, is intended
for the viewer to make of it what he will. The film is
intriguing, compelling, baffling and frustrating all at once.
Cheung has an appealing screen freshness which beguiles. What
interests me most is the clever crossing of cultures: the
effective use of both the English and French language. French is
used throughout, except when Cheung is involved in the action.
Irma Vep is a film full of chaos, which at times entertains and
at times makes you wonder what it’s all about."
Louise Keller
"Movies about movie making have a voyeuristic quality
that's irresistible to those of us who love the movies. Irma Vep
is a film that has many beguiling qualities, though as a cohesive
whole, it lacks spark. Maggie Cheung is a huge success in her
native Hong Kong, and has a certain allure when dolled up in her
sexy latex outfit. But playing this outsider in a French film,
she's clearly out of her element and lacks the depth to carry off
some of the film's more complex moments. By the film's
inconclusive conclusion, Cheung is as elusive and enigmatic as
she was in the beginning, and playing herself, there's no sense
of character at play. The French cast is far more successful, and
visually, Irma Vep has a striking glow which is often
breathtaking and fluid. Had writer/director Olivier Assayas taken
as much trouble to define his characters than to express his
ideas visually, Irma Vep would have been a far greater work than
it merely pretends to be."
Paul Fischer
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IRMA VEP (M 15+)
(France)
CAST: Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Nathalie Richard,
Bulle Ogier, Lou Castel, Arsinee Khanjian, Antoine Basler,
Nathalie Boutefeu, Alex Descas, Dominique Faysse, Bernard
Nissile, Olivier Torres
DIRECTOR: Olivier Assayas
PRODUCER: Georges Benayoun
SCRIPT: Olivier Assayas
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eric Gautier
EDITOR: Luc Barnier
MUSIC:
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Françoise Guglielmi
RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Potential Films
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: December 18, 1997
IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Festivals: Cannes, 1996 - Un Certain Regard
VIDEO DISTRIBUTO: Siren Entertainment
VIDEO RELEASSE: July 12, 1999
RRP: $29.95
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