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Irma Vep | Year: 1997 Classification: Foreign Film - French Directed: - Olivier Assayas Actors/Actresses: - Maggie Cheung - Jean-Pierre Léaud "Satire" is such an abused term 20 years from now IRMA VEP's sole raison d'etre will be that it showcased the charm and beauty of Maggie Cheung to the max, which it does admirably well. I can only assume that Cheung was not subject to the kind of befuddling, unprofessional and inefficient conditions of the sets for the movie-within-the-movie, while she was making IRMA VEP. So there is some hope for the French cinema, no? I suppose many American critics would want to watch French filmmakers obtusely navel-gazing on why they cannot make great films any more. (Assuming that they used to make great films, even during the nouvelle vague) Me, I'll take the 12th run of HEROIC TRIO anytime. A work of art? A charming comedy? Mon derriere! Ah and yes, Fox Lorber did the usual slum job with DVD transfer, mucho compression noise, especially in close-ups. Quelque chose de different The French do self-reflexive cinema better than we do. This tale of a has-been director attempting a comeback with a re-make of a silent French serial (and using a non-French speaking real-life Maggie Cheung in the title role) is the ultimate exercise in cinematic intertextuality. But it's also a lot ofe fun and not--as one of the film's own characters grouses about the state of French cinema--just intellectual navel gazing. Not for everyone, of course, but for lovers of cinematic irony, it's hard to think of a more delightful feelm. Leaping latex lesbian vampyres, Rocky! I truly fail to understand those who consider this a serious cinematic masterpiece. It pales in comparison, for instance, with other Maggie Cheung vehicles such as "In the Mood for Love" or "Song of the Exile". Indeed, one of the four rating stars is purely for the presence of Maggie as something at least close to her off screen persona (ok, I admit to a bit of a crush here :-). On the other hand, it is not the abysmal drek others rate it. The plot is drolly amusing, along the lines of a mid-level American TV sitcom. And as one who has been in similar situations a few times, the depiction of Maggie's perplexity and detachment when thrust into making a film in Paris while speaking no French rings true. The side-plot of Zoe, the costumier, who develops a crush on Maggie while fitting her with the black latex catsuit in a Paris sex shop, is amusing and well handled. Nathalie Richard is just right (and dang cute) as Zoe, a grown woman regressed to breathless teenage puppy love. Maggie wanders through it all with gracious aplomb as everything and everybody is falling apart around her, intrigued by Zoe's interest though ultimately declining. For those who haven't read the previous hundred reviews, a brief summary: Maggie Cheung, playing herself, arrives in Paris on a movie set in chaos. The director has chosen her to play the part of a cat burglar (Irma Vep) in a remake of a classic silent film, on the basis of obsessive viewing of Cheung's Hong Kong action films (I think it was Heroic Trio he was watching). [Real life director Arrayas was Cheung's boyfriend, later husband. Art imitating life, or vice versa?] Maggie is the calm center of a swirl of studio politics, backbiting and romantic advances (male and female). She goes to a late night party, and one night dreams (?) that she gets tricked up in her cat suit and burgles another room in her hotel. The director, dysfuntional at best, eventuallly has a breakdown. A new director decides he needs a French actress to play a classic French role, and Maggie accepts calmly(probably glad to get out of this mess). The last we hear is that she has cashed in her return ticket for a flight to New York to meet an American director. Buy Irma Vep at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Irma Vep Search with the Priority Search Engine on Irma Vep This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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