Holy Motors (2012)

From dawn to dusk, a few hours in the shadowy life of a mystic man named Monsieur Oscar.

Director:

Leos Carax

Writer:

Leos Carax (screenplay)

Stars:

Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes

30 wins & 69 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denis Lavant	...	Mr. Oscar / Le Banquier / La Mendiante / L'O.S de la Motion Capture / M. Merde / Le Père / L'Accordéoniste / Le Tueur / Le Tué / Le Mourant / L'Homme au Foyer
Edith Scob	...	Céline (as Édith Scob)
Eva Mendes	...	Kay M
Kylie Minogue	...	Eva Grace (Jean)
Elise Lhomeau	...	Léa (Élise)
Jeanne Disson	...	Angèle
Michel Piccoli	...	L'Homme à la tache de vin
Leos Carax	...	Le Dormeur / Voix Limousine (as LC)
Nastya Golubeva Carax	...	La Petite Fille
Reda Oumouzoune	...	L'Acrobate Mocap
Zlata	...	La Cyber-Femme
Geoffrey Carey	...	Le Photographe / Voix Limousine
Annabelle Dexter-Jones	...	L'assistante photographe
Elise Caron
Corinne Yam

Storyline

From dawn to dusk, a few hours in the shadowy life of a mystic man named Monsieur Oscar.

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Plot Keywords:

graveyard | fake beard and mustache | erotic dance | musical sequence | experimental film | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role played by Michel Piccoli was originally intended for Leos Carax himself, but he decided it would be misleading to cast a filmmaker. When Piccoli was cast, the idea was to make him unrecognizable and credit him under a pseudonym, but the information reached the media.

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Quotes

Mr. Oscar: I miss the cameras. They used to be heavier than us. Then they became smaller than our heads. Now you can't see them at all.

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Crazy Credits

"Katya, for you" with a picture of Yekaterina Golubeva during the closing credits.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Weirdest Movies (2015)

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Soundtracks

Who Were We?
Lyrics by Leos Carax and Neil Hannon
Music by Neil Hannon
Orchestrated and arranged by Andrew Skeet
Performed by Kylie Minogue and Berlin Music Ensemble

User Reviews

Self-aware and self-indulgent, which makes for an amazing and flawed experiment

Holy Motors (2012)

A bizarre (and highly praised) film that is ambitious and inventive to the point of pain. I wish it was as brilliant as it intends. As we follow the leading character Oscar through a series of seemingly unconnected events, it struck me that the goal is simply to stage these odd moments, almost choreographed surreal adventures where he takes on different personae (with elaborate costumes). The events don't achieve what you might call depth or meaning. They are interesting—how could they fail on that score?—yet interesting turns out to be not enough.

Still, look for high style throughout, some terrific underworld insanity, some unfiltered sex and violence, and lots and lots of pretense. I have a feeling there are some people who might rate this among their favorite films and so I'd say give this a try. It might take half an hour to know whether the changing roles and scenes (and the self-indulgence) will keep you sustained.

Since Oscar is shuttled from one location to another in a stretch limo, you get the feeling he might just be a filthy rich eccentric who refuses to be bored with life. He admits he started doing this (every day, we get the sense) for "the beauty of the act," and this high level of aesthetic tension seems insufficient for the depravity involved.

This is a French-German enterprise, set in Paris. It has enough quiet moments to make you impatient, but from the pause it will take off on another romp. The actor has to be admired, for sure—Denis Levant, known for his boundary pushing roles (from Shakespeare to experimental film). The director, Leos Carax is likewise associated with the avant garde —and with Levant. But they have tried to keep their grand experiment traditionally cinematic, as well, so there are lots of ways to appreciate what's going on. The filming is sublime, the ambiance from lighting to set design is gorgeous.

There is that dangerous point in a art when a work gets so serious it demands of itself a kind of perfect to succeed. And there are so many little holes here, even some odd moments in the acting, it becomes almost laughable. At times. Which is too bad. There is a lot here to take quite seriously, I think. Then again, maybe it's meant to be an absurdist dark comedy all the way. Which means we're allow to laugh after all. Go for it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French English Chinese

Release Date:

4 July 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

Holy Motors

Filming Locations:

Pont Alexandre III, Paris 7, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,866, 21 October 2012

Gross USA:

$641,100

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,954,125

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pierre Grise Productions, Théo Films, Pandora Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1