Demonlover (2002)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas (written by)

Release Date:

6 November 2002 (France)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Two corporations compete for illicit 3D manga pornography, sending spies to infiltrate each other's operations.

Plot Keywords:

Corporation | Torture | Pornography | Spy | Internet

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Connie Nielsen	...	Diane de Monx
Charles Berling	...	Hervé Le Millinec
Chloë Sevigny	...	Elise Lipsky
Dominique Reymond	...	Karen
Jean-Baptiste Malartre	...	Henri-Pierre Volf
Gina Gershon	...	Elaine Si Gibril
Edwin Gerard	...	Edward Gomez
Thomas M. Pollard	...	Avocat américain
Abi Sakamoto	...	Kaori - la traductrice
Naoko Yamazaki	...	Eiko
Nao Omori	...	Shoji (as Nao Ohmori)
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Verkamp - Contact Diane
Julie Brochen	...	Gina - Amie de Diane
Randall Holden	...	Ray
Alexandre Lachaux	...	Erwan - Broker #1

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexual content and some language.

Runtime:

129 min | USA:117 min (unrated version) | Italy:121 min | USA:115 min (R-rated version)

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | Germany:18 | Italy:VM18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Japan:R-18

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Citizen Films

Trivia:

The prêt-a-porter featured is from a Fred Sathal collection and is credited along the movie and video game extracts featured.

Quotes:

Hervé Le Millinec: I saw you move. I saw you with Volf.
Diane de Monx: What did you see?
Hervé Le Millinec: How you operated. I admire you.
Diane de Monx: You didn't see anything. No one sees anything. Ever. They watch... But they don't understand.

Movie Connections:

References The Hellfire Club (1961)

c'mon people, it's NOT the worst film ever

If a movie upsets this many people (check the reviews below), there must be something to it. Perhaps people are reacting to the insidiousness of the world of corporate espionage, pornography, lovelessness, pleasurelessness, etc. on display in every corner of the movie. Although its final 30 minutes or so veer toward incoherence--the meaning of what ultimately happens seems less interesting as a resolution than in (for example) "Mulholland Drive"--it's a cool, controlled, provocative rethinking of the modern techno thriller. It's a far more subtle and nuanced movie than the kind of head trip movies that kids go for these days ("Requiem for a Dream," bleh!), and the Sonic Youth score and cinematography are terrific.

I was originally attracted to the film on the strengths of Assayas' other films--all three I've seen ("Irma Vep", "Late August/Early Sept.", "Les Destinees Sentimentales") excellent and each in its own way unique. His work is eclectic and unpredictable in the best sense, seemingly at ease with big or small productions--in the great tradition of Jonathan Demme or Michael Winterbottom or Louis Malle. This is probably the only one of his films so far that could have attracted an American audience, but the chilliness of its surfaces apparently has scared a few too many away. It's a pity, because the film's definitely worth seeing.