A Chinese movie actress, in France to star in a remake of "Les Vampires", finds petty intrigues and clashing egos on the set.
Can't get enough of movies and TV shows that scare up a good fright? Check out Scary Good, IMDb's Horror Entertainment Guide.
Related News
-
Olivier Assayas and Kristen Stewart: Watch a Free Documentary About Their Collaboration on ‘Personal Shopper’
28 September 2018 | Indiewire -
Watch Olivier Assayas’ Little-Seen Short ‘Left Unfinished in Tokyo’
25 September 2018 | The Film Stage -
‘Non-Fiction’ Review: Olivier Assayas and Juliette Binoche Deliver a Timeless Comedy About Twitter — Venice 2018
31 August 2018 | Indiewire
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Irma Vep (1996)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
2 wins & 3 nominations.
See more awards »
Learn more
More Like This
Drama
|
Music
|
Romance
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Maggie Cheung,
Nick Nolte,
Béatrice Dalle
L'eau froide
(1994)
Drama
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Virginie Ledoyen,
Cyprien Fouquet,
László Szabó
Demonlover
(2002)
Thriller
|
Drama
|
Mystery
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Connie Nielsen,
Gina Gershon,
Chloë Sevigny
Late August, Early September
(1998)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Mathieu Amalric,
Virginie Ledoyen,
François Cluzet
Paris s'éveille
(1991)
Drama
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Judith Godrèche,
Jean-Pierre Léaud,
Thomas Langmann
A New Life
(1993)
Drama
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Sophie Aubry,
Judith Godrèche,
Bernard Giraudeau
Les destinées
(2000)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Emmanuelle Béart,
Charles Berling,
Isabelle Huppert
Gambling, Gods and LSD
(2002)
Documentary
Director:
Peter Mettler
Stars:
Govinda,
Peter Mettler,
Rani Mukerji
The Structure of Crystal
(1969)
Drama
Director:
Krzysztof Zanussi
Stars:
Barbara Wrzesinska,
Jan Myslowicz,
Andrzej Zarnecki
Cilaos
(2016)
Short
Director:
Camilo Restrepo
Stars:
David Abrousse,
Harry Perigone,
Christine Salem
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Maggie Cheung | ... | Maggie Cheung | |
| 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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
French filmmaker René Vidal was once a renowned director, but most see his career on a quick downward slide based on his last several films. In Paris, he is just starting to film his latest movie, a remake of Les vampires (1915), and has hired Hong Kong based Chinese actress Maggie Cheung as the title lead, "Irma Vep" (an anagram for "vampire"), despite she knowing no French and she not being an obvious choice to most. Maggie has never worked with Vidal before and knows little about his movies, but many of his primarily French crew are part of his regular stable. As such, Maggie may become isolated among the cast and crew, unless there are those who bring her into their English conversations, they who may have somewhat ulterior motives in doing so. There are also factions within the cast and crew, who, based on their history, have a poisoned sense of what is going on. With Vidal, he is dealing with some personal issues while he tries to regain his film making form. He may transfer his... Written by Huggo
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
FranceRelease Date:
30 April 1997 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ирма Веп See more »Edit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$191,164, 10 August 1997Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
Edit
(uncredited)
Written by Silvio Rodríguez
Performed by Silvio Rodríguez
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The title is the anagram of "vampire". See more »Goofs
When Jose drinks his beer at the restaurant, he finishes it off. But then in the next shot he refinishes the same beer before the waiter brings him a new one. See more »Soundtracks
La era está pariendo un corazón(uncredited)
Written by Silvio Rodríguez
Performed by Silvio Rodríguez
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.Contribute to This Page
Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.
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! 8/10.