The Crystal Ferret [Film Festival 05.30.12] drama



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Aglouglia! Alk tsuet tsuet kerotut xeuhhi-vi aass!


If you are wondering, this is an actual line of dialogue, not the latest proof of my dwindling cerebral capabilities. What sort of self-respecting movie could hold in itself such jabberwocky of a phrase? What if I told you there also are talking limousines in it? The good thing is that Leos Carax HOLY MOTORS isn't a movie. It's a relentless journey into a stranger head, searching for the meaning of acting.

To that effect we are plunged into the daily life of the enigmatic Mr Oscar.

From the back-seat of his props-littered and junk-filled white limousine, he strolls around Paris, going from appointments to appointments. Before each one he'll undergo a physical transformation, wigs, make-up, clothes, fitting for each of the situations he'll encounter. 11 appointments, 11 transformations. Each of these landmarks is a distinctive genre of cinema, Mr Oscar is the Total-Actor. Of course, this is a kind of ouroboros, Mr Oscar is the Total-Actor, therefore is the actor playing Mr Oscar: Denis Lavant.

Bear in mind that there is no real narrative, it's a day in the life of the future of acting. In a world where there aren't cameras or crew anymore, where the actor is in situ, in vivo, where the only thing that matters now that the art is freed of any technicalities is the beauty of the gesture, the perfection of the part played. Just imagine a succession of vignettes, taken from the various possible incarnations of Cinema and acting, thrown pell-mell into your retinas. Jumping from Motion capture shooting complete with videogame grade rendering of the action in the background to a totally phantasmagorical trek down the sewers of Paris emerging in a cemetery where the hero will run amok eating flowers, back to some family drama with a musical intermission thrown in-between for good measure. And so on, and so on, until there's only the Act emerging from the acting.

At that point it gets lyrical, this is Cinema trying to understand itself and maybe to get understood in return. A 2 hours-long voyage into the borderline schizophrenia of the medium. To that effect I guess I could, or maybe even should, have written this entirely in gibberish to give you the feeling of outré weirdness that seeps from every second.

The achieved result of this journey is a kaleidoscope of emotions that will speak to anyone differently. In my eyes it was sometimes magnificent, sometimes boring, and a few moment so French I almost had a nosebleed. Like when the limousines are arguing on how they'll be junk soon because the humans don't want any visible machine any more.

Sadly, not being able to explain properly the course of the narrative means speaking more of the technical details and overall production value, a task I always find utterly annoying. It's out of place here more than ever. This is Art, it shan't be reduced to mundane elements, the sum of them being so far greater and brilliant than what can be deduced of their individuality. So if I'm telling you this is a low budget film, with a tailored script made for a pre-determined actor and shot entirely in digital, what does it gives you? A sense of being able to touch the very core of the most celebrated art form ever? Feelings of awe and wonder? NO, it gives you mundane materiality, it's as interesting as a spreadsheet on yearly beet export in Romania.

Of course the medium used is cinema, so you can try and review this as any other film churned this year. Sadly as soon as you do this, flaws appear. Conglomerated flaws of all the genres portrayed, of the limited semiotics imposed by the sketch sequences, and the consequent childish symbolism, the linearity of progression between the genres portrayed. Doing this it's less clever than it wants to be, but one thing still remains a complete achievement, the performance delivered by Denis Lavant and the whole supporting cast.

This is a landmark in itself. Whether you understand it or are just baffled by it, this is a statement on the present and future of cinema. For that alone it's beyond what my words can express.

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agentorange (11 months ago) Reply

This is all well and good, but the question remains: Have you made it to the beach, Ferret?

The Crystal Ferret (11 months ago) Reply

I mostly made it to the bar.

Stu (7 months ago) Reply

We follow a day in the life of Monsieur Oscar being driven around Paris in a white stretch limo by Céline (his driver and secretary), who ferries him around from one 'appointment' to another. To get full enjoyment from this film stop there and watch it. Anything else you read may spoil or confuse and may not be entirely accurate.

For those intrigued to know more... Each one of Oscar's appointments could be played as its own short film. We realise that the limo is full of masks, make-up and costumes for Oscar to change his appearance to fulfil his role at each appointment. Throughout the film he changes his character about ten times to be different people, these include an old beggar woman, a powerful business man, a dying millionaire, a murderer, a kidnapper, a CGI snake, an angry uncle and husband to a chimp family. The film doesn't explain what or why each of these appointments are carried out although the audience is given a few hints to form their own conclusions. However 'why' is really not the point here, accepting that he just does makes the experience much more enjoyable. It's simply amazing to watch our character step into a completely different role and make it convincing. The argument he has with his young niece (if it's actually his young niece) is sheer brilliance, but somewhat disturbing at the same time. The character is convincing but it's not clear what is real and what isn't. This is all down to Denis Lavant as our main character and Leos Carax for some superb direction. In addition we are treated to some short but touching set pieces by Eva Mendes and Kylie.

This is essentially an art-house film, but unlike unlike other such films this is full of comedy, some subtle and some proper laugh-out-loud moments. Meaning it never takes itself too seriously and never talks down to the audience. The audience is definitely a needed extension to this film, especially if you allow yourself to be drawn in and experience the journey.

This is certainly very Lynchian and recommended for any fans of his work. After leaving the cinema I was still very caught-up in the world that Carax had created. I had the same feeling after watching Inland Empire and to a certain extent Cosmopolis.

I tend to be a harsh critic, but I really can't think of anything I didn't like. Kylie dropped in a song which could have been cringe-worthy, but actually worked well. Even the talking limos were there as comedy value rather than to annoy. As for plot holes, not only would it be impossible to find one, but also rather pointless as this film goes beyond that conventional way of thinking.

This is art done well; more please!