Irma Vep (1996)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas (written by)

Release Date:

30 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Rene Vidal, a director in decline, decides to remake Louis Feuillade's silent serial "Les Vampires."...

Plot Keywords:

Anagram | Journalist | Actress | Director | Actress Playing Herself

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Maggie Cheung	...	Herself
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	René Vidal
Nathalie Richard	...	Zoé
Antoine Basler	...	Journalist
Nathalie Boutefeu	...	Laure
Alex Descas	...	Desormeaux
Dominique Faysse	...	Maïté
Arsinée Khanjian	...	L'américaine
Bernard Nissile	...	Markus
Olivier Torres	...	Ferdinand / Moreno
Bulle Ogier	...	Mireille
Lou Castel	...	José Mirano
Jacques Fieschi	...	Roland
Estelle Larrivaz	...	La standardiste
Balthazar Clémenti	...	Robert, assistant

Also Known As:

Vampire (France) (trailer title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | UK:15 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:11

Company:

Dacia Films

Trivia:

The title is the anagram of "vampire".

Goofs:

Continuity: After René says, "respect the silence" to Maggie, he speaks to a woman and takes a drink from a big plastic Coke bottle. He screws the cap on, then hands her the bottle. She turns around, and the cap is missing.

Movie Connections:

References Batman (1989)

Soundtrack:

Tunic(Song for Karen)

Dream of Cinema

I suppose this film is by its nature polarizing, because it's a movie about film-making that lacks action, or drama, or a strong plot line. Nonetheless, I think it stands as one of the most charming, and disarmingly original, films of the 90s. A somewhat haphazard production company in Paris, about to remake a silent classic, has a mixed reaction to the casting of an actress from the Hong Kong cinema (Maggie Cheung, utterly delightful) as its iconic French heroine. The movie lazily moves through onset and offset scenes that detail the relationships of the movie's cast and crew, with Cheung, playing herself, employed as the innocent abroad. One of the most interesting movies about movies ever made, with the legendary Jean-Pierre Leaud as the mad, virtually incomprehensible director. Magnifique.