Irma Vep

Starring:Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre LÃ©aud, Nathalie Richard, Antoine Basler, Nathalie Boutefeu, Alex Descas, Dominique Faysse, ArsinÃ©e Khanjian, Bernard Nissile, Olivier Torres, Bulle Ogier, Lou Castel, Jacques Fieschi, Estelle Larrivaz, Balthazar ClÃ©menti, Lara Cowez, Dominique Cuny, Jessica Doyle, Sandra Faure, Catherine Ferny
Director: Olivier Assayas
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

In the tradition of films about filmmaking, Irma Vep takes its own special place among such films as Fellini's 8½. A has-been director decides to remake the silent French serial film Les Vampires starring a Hong Kong action film superstar. The production is falling behind schedule and its star, Maggie Cheung (who plays herself), finds herself an outsider with the film's crew save for a woman costumer (Nathalie Richard) who has a crush on her. Rene the director (Jean-Pierre Leaud) cast Maggie after viewing one of her many martial-arts fantasy films. Although he finds her perfect for the part of the jewel thief in Les Vampires, the rest of the crew cannot see the reasons for casting Maggie beyond her beauty and how she looks in her tight-fitting latex costume. Rene's vision is soon lost on everyone and he suffers a mental breakdown. The film is reassigned to Jose (Lou Castel), a seemingly more commanding director (although he takes the job because his welfare is about to run out), whose first decision is to fire Maggie. Irma Vep is presented as a comedy, but at its heart lies an examination of the art and craft of filmmaking. In a clever turn, Maggie creeps around her hotel getting into character, in essence remaking Irma Vep for real-life director Olivier Assayas. Assayas wrote the film in 10 days and shot the film in a month after meeting Maggie Cheung at a film festival--a fascinating case of life imitating art... or is it the other way around? --Shannon Gee

Description

Hong Kong action superstar Maggie Cheung (Police Story) plays herself in Olivier Assayas' brilliant satire of the movie industry.

Customer Reviews:

Almost a really cool movie.......2006-07-10

Irma Vep is a fictional behind-the-scenes film. Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung stars as Maggie Cheung, a Hong Kong actress starring in a French remake of an old silent film. The most interesting dynamic of this film are the interaction and tensions between these multiple layers. Cheung's character starts to have trouble differentiating between the role that she plays and reality. The director of the fictional French film chose the fictional Cheung because her previous Hong Kong work recommends her for the part; viewers of the film Irma Vep will also be influenced in what they think of the character because of films of the real-life Maggie Cheung (Super Cop) that they have presumably seen.

The main tension of the plot revolves around four main plot threads: the character Maggie Cheung seems to get too much into her Vampire-like cat burglar character, the formerly-great French director of the film seems to be going through a personal crisis and perhaps even a nervous breakdown, the rest of the crew--especially the assistant director--have trouble understanding the director's vision and the casting of Cheung in the lead role, and the costume director has a secret crush on Cheung. Irma Vep is an entertaining film about a film production that is in the process of unraveling under the strain of all of these tensions.

The film is interesting, but there are problems in the execution. I would have liked to have seen more of an exploration of the plot threads that I described above. The film sets up interesting situations, but then leaves the viewer dangling. In one scene the Maggie Cheung character tries out an act of burglary, but how does that relate to everything else going on in the film? Is it simply a case of Cheung getting too much into character or does this have something to do with Cheung's strange reluctance to talk about her previous film production which apparently also suffered problems? The lesbian crush subplot doesn't really go anywhere--after watching the costume designer's crush on Cheung throughout the film, this culminates in Cheung's embarassed giggling when she finds out about the crush. There seems to be some kind parallel between the ways that the Cheung character is magnetically attractive both to the costume designer and the director--maybe this even has something to do with the vampire-like attributes of the character that Cheung's character is playing, but again the film makers hint at this without developing it.

Overall I enjoyed the film. The open nature of the script allows different viewers to see different things. I can appreciate this, but I guess I would have like to have seen more of how these interesting situations played out rather than just settling for an interesting setup where the viewer can imagine what it means and where it will go.

Sonic Youth and old, yet as young as all outdoors........2006-04-22

Hey, not only does this flic(no, not a french policeman), have great music, it also, sorta like ontology recapitulates teleology, is sorta like a 'Day for Night' but brought many years forward and never stops... At least Francois Truffaut kept it within 'soap opera' parameters. This flic leaves us with no boundaries, and yet Maggie is so appealing, why was she not nominated in les academie americain for this?... And yet Miss Kim Gordon, wow, with the song Tunic, exhilarates, and Serge and Brigitte Bardot, as they say, bring it all home with 'Bonnie and Clyde'...Zwei mal...Tschuss...

Great Misunderstood Film.......2004-10-18

Irma Vep elicits two reactions from different groups of people: nay sayers who view it as yet another boring French film and people who focus on the film-about-a-film. I think it is seriously misleading to view the film in either of these lights. Irma Vep should be viewed as a series of short films, tied together by the "plot" of the film. Each mini-plot is fascinating and together make the film wonderful.

If you don't know, Irma Vep is a movie about a Hong Kong action star (Maggie cheung) who arrives in Paris to do a remake of a 1915 French film about the French underworld. The director is losing his emotional stability and eventually the crew unravels. A lot has been said about the "film within the film" aspect of the movie, so I won't say more. What I think is fascinating is how the director tells a number of stories within this strange plot:

- The crash and burn of a film crew
- Zoe, the costume designer who is attracted to Maggie and she is rejected
- Maggie's desire to indulge in her criminal fantasies
- the director's strangely engaging mini-film

Since all this takes place in the middle of chaos, it can be hard to appreciate at first. There is really no beginning or end of the film. It is abrupt, which I think must reflect the experience of someone who arrives in the middle of turmoil. But each mini-plot is lovingly filmed and well acted. It also helps a great deal that Maggie Cheung is an attractive actress who can really carry well while wearing a latex suit the director insists she wear. The rest of the cast puts in a great performance as well, which allows you to engage with the other characters. On top of that, the film has lots of great shots - the weird footage at the end, Maggie sneaking through the hotel, the obligatory French dinner party, an incisive slam on the French film indusrty, etc..

Definitely worth it for people who can tolerate unusual plot structures and who enjoy beauty in unusual places. Check it out.

Charming French cinema...& lovely Maggie Cheung.......2004-09-15

I will state that I have never been a fan of self-reflective French films. Some French films are so self-aggrandizing. However, I did find "Irma Vep" to be a charming piece of work. I'll try not to be biased since I am a huge fan of Maggie Cheung. Maggie gives what else?...another delightful performance. Fans of her HK films will probably enjoy seeing Maggie in the flesh acting like a normal person. She looks radiant with very little makeup and dressed down in jeans. It is a good look behind the scenes and the squabbling on a movie set. I was unsure if this was supposed to be a satire since French cinema is not my forte.

Quelque chose de different.......2004-03-08

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.

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