Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Demonlover (2002)
Demonlover
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Demonlover (2002) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 6 | slideshow) Videos
Demonlover (2002) -- Two corporations compete for illicit 3D manga pornography, sending spies to infiltrate each other's operations.

Overview

User Rating:
5.6/10   2,399 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Writer:
Olivier Assayas (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Demonlover on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 November 2002 (France) more
Genre:
Thriller | Drama | Mystery more
Plot:
Two corporations compete for illicit 3D manga pornography, sending spies to infiltrate each other's operations. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
3 wins & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Summer Hours (review)
 (From FlickFilosopher. 18 June 2009, 7:59 AM, PDT)

Film: Review: Summer Hours
 (From The AV Club. 14 May 2009, 12:03 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Criminally Underrated more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

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
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
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 more
Company:
Citizen Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The prêt-a-porter featured is from a Fred Sathal collection and is credited along the movie and video game extracts featured. more
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.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Devil's Muse (2007) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
48 out of 52 people found the following comment useful:-
Criminally Underrated, 24 April 2004
9/10
Author: arturobandini from Burbank, CA

Admittedly, DEMONLOVER makes a sharp left narrative turn at the halfway point that's going to confound viewers who are intrigued by the straightforward (and extremely absorbing) high-stakes opening. But that's no reason to dismiss the many, many things that writer/director Olivier Assayas gets absolutely right. In the end, DEMONLOVER is a fascinating mirror-world reflection (as William Gibson would call it) of where our global society might be just five minutes from now: the fittest who survive will be multilingual, career-consumed and ridiculously chic, but also soulless, as if missing the gene that supplies a sense of loyalty and ethics. The movie is a cautionary, though entirely plausible, tale of humans debased by their own lust for ungoverned capitalism. Every line of dialogue is about the business merger at hand; in the rare instances where feelings are discussed, they're usually about how *work* affects those emotions. The big wink here is that the characters don't even discuss business honestly, because each has duplicitous motives.

Technically, DEMONLOVER is a feast. Denis Lenoir's widescreen photography constantly dazzles -- many of the tracking shots are sustained in close-up (creating paranoia), and the color spectrum appears as if filtered through corporate fluorescence. (The neon-drenched Tokyo sequence is particularly hypnotic.) Jump cuts keep the narrative one step ahead of the audience. Sonic Youth's atonal guitar score creates the same mutant environment that Howard Shore pulled off in CRASH. Most significantly, Connie Nielsen's face (and hair and wardrobe) mesmerizes more than any CGI I've ever seen. Considering the labyrinthine motives of her character, Nielsen's exquisite subtlety may be lost on first-time viewers; on second look, her emotionless gaze speaks volumes.

Audiences (and critics) have unanimously attacked the `problematic' second half as an example of directorial self-indulgence. While I agree that it's not as satisfying as the first half, I don't think it's a total crash-and-burn (pardon the pun). Clearly, the ending is open to thematic interpretation, but I think Assayas is just saying that if our species isn't more careful, we'll end up like one-dimensional characters in a video game of our own devising - sure, winner takes all, but the rest of us suffer enormously.

Narrative ambiguity aside, DEMONLOVER is the great Hitchcockian/Cronenbergian espionage fantasia I've been waiting for. It makes sense that it would come from Europe, since Hollywood forgot long ago how to make their assembly-line genre exercises intellectually stimulating. (Like the animé porn within the story, Hollywood movies today represent no more than a calculated corporate commodity.) More than any other film from the last 2½ years, DEMONLOVER seems a product of the post-9/11 world - a not-so-distant future where overwhelming paranoia goads us to preemptively eliminate any form of potential competition before it can do the same to us. And how in doing so, we devour our own tail.

I expect this movie's reputation will grow by leaps and bounds in the coming years.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Demonlover (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What the heck did I just watch? crestfallenimmortal
What do you think happens dr-j-sinnful
The Soundtrack Of Demonlover mvmo
Do websites like this one actually exist out there? thequietman87
No one to feed you? sute_neko
Region 2 DVD ladyhunter78
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Day of the Jackal Nada Watchmen Cidade de Deus Se, jie
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Thriller section IMDb France section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.