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Irma Vep (1996) [w/Commentary]

Posted By: MirrorsMaker
Date: 27 Oct 2022 13:08:29
SD / BDRip IMDb
Irma Vep (1996) [w/Commentary]

Irma Vep (1996)
BDRip | MKV | 1024x618 | x264 @ 2642 Kbps | 98 min | 2,29 Gb
Audio: Français AC3 5.1 @ 448 Kbps + English Commentary | Subs: English (srt)
Genre: Art-house, Comedy, Drama

Director: Olivier Assayas
Writer: Olivier Assayas
Stars: Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Nathalie Richard

Ten years after he made his feature debut with Disorder in 1986, Olivier Assayas decided it was time to turn his attentions to the French film industry for his sixth picture. Written in ten days, and shot in less than a month, Irma Vep provides a mid-nineties' amalgam of François Truffaut's Day for Night and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Beware of a Holy Whore. French filmmaker René Vidal (Day for Night's Jean-Pierre Léaud) is commissioned by a TV company to direct a remake of Louis Feuillade's classic silent-era serial, Les Vampires. Maggie Cheung (playing a version of herself) is cast in the central role and heads to Paris for filming – where she finds herself amid the chaos of artistic differences, petty rivalries and the immense egos which make up a film set.

Irma Vep is Assayas at his lightest and most playful – simultaneously a gently satirical dig at the state of French cinema and a love letter to his female star.

IMDB

Maggie Cheung or not, I didn't expect much out of this film. But I was quite pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. For one, to get someone to play themselves in a lead role in a fictional film (Jackie Chan films and Roy Rogers aside;) is usually a risky thing to do. But Cheung fits in beautifully, and is so charming that she is obviously perfectly cast.

The film is in English and French, and even though the French is subtitled, I think it's easier to get caught up in the flow of the film if you understand both (I'm fluent in French and didn't have a problem, but I can see where it might be overly distracting). Some scenes seemed particularly important for one to be constantly looking away from the action, so to speak.

The film was a little long, and some scenes probably could have been cut down or cut altogether, but it gives a good view into French film-making, especially the snobbish elitism that is apparently common in more intellectual/artistic film circles. It's hysterically funny at some points, and the characterization of the different crew members is brilliantly portrayed.

I especially loved the scene where Maggie Cheung gets into characters by actually prowling around as a cat burglar (though she throws away her booty;)

Overall: a tight, well done film. It drags just a bit at points, but strong acting and strong writing help to overcome such lags. A pleasant surprise and a fun film!
(click to enlarge)
Irma Vep (1996) [w/Commentary]

Audio commentary by writer-director Olivier Assayas and critic Jean-Michel Frodon

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