Personal Shopper (2016)

A personal shopper in Paris refuses to leave the city until she makes contact with her twin brother who previously died there. Her life becomes more complicated when a mysterious person contacts her via text message.

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas

Stars:

Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid Bouaziz

9 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kristen Stewart	...	Maureen
Lars Eidinger	...	Ingo
Sigrid Bouaziz	...	Lara
Anders Danielsen Lie	...	Erwin
Ty Olwin	...	Gary
Hammou Graïa	...	Detective
Nora von Waldstätten	...	Kyra
Benjamin Biolay	...	Victor Hugo
Audrey Bonnet	...	Cassandre
Pascal Rambert	...	Jérôme
Aurélia Petit	...	Chanel PR
Olivia Ross	...	Attachée de presse maison de couture Londres
Thibault Lacroix	...	Attachée de presse maison de couture Paris
Calypso Valois	...	Assistante séance photo
Benoit Peverelli	...	Photographer

Storyline

It's been already three months since the sudden death of her 27-year-old twin brother Lewis from a congenital malformation of the heart, and Maureen, a young fashionista, assistant to a celebrity woman and a capable medium, still hasn't made any contact with him. Spending her time between high profile fashion establishments and the abandoned Lewis' house in Paris, Maureen is silently battling with the gut-wrenching grief and sorrow, while at the same time, looking for a sign from her deceased brother after an oath taken between the twins. Aloof, disoriented and still mourning, wraithlike Maureen attuned to the ethereal realm, is inevitably caught between this world and the spiritual, always looking for portals and a sign that would prove her brother right, however, in vain. Unexpectedly, as the days pass by swiftly and the random apparitions become more frequent, Maureen will start to receive strange text messages from an unknown sender who seems to know a lot about her, but in the ...

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Plot Keywords:

spiritualism | text message | medium | personal shopper | voice over letter | 

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Taglines:

A film written and directed by Olivier Assayas

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language, sexuality, nudity and a bloody violent image

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

France Germany Czech Republic Belgium

Language:

English French Swedish German

Release Date:

10 March 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Personal Shopper

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$79,175, 12 March 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,305,195, 9 June 2017

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$269,920, 19 March 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

CG Cinéma, Vortex Sutra, Sirena Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stewart and the crew were filming in Paris and left to start filming in Prague just 48 hours before the 2015 Paris attacks. They were together when the news broke on TV with many of the crew frantically making phone calls to check on the safety of family and friends.

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Goofs

When Maureen is seeing the video on the Swedish artist, the Swedish speaker is obviously not a native speaker, but some kind of foreigner, as some pronunciation is quite strange.

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Quotes

Maureen Cartwright: [talking about her deceased brother] So we made this oath... Whoever died first would send the other a sign.
Ingo: A sign? From- from the afterlife?
Maureen Cartwright: You could call it that; you could call it a million things.
Ingo: But... how do you know if it's a sign?
Maureen Cartwright: I'm a medium. He was- he was a medium. I'll just know it.
Ingo: Have you... communicated with spirits before?
Maureen Cartwright: Um. Lewis thought they were... spirits. I'm- I'm less sure. But yes. Uh, somewhat.
[gets off the couch to smoke]
Maureen Cartwright: I mean there are invisible... presences......
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara (2017)

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Soundtracks

Track of Time
Written and Performed by Anna Von Hausswolff
Courtesy of Kning Disk

User Reviews

Very unnerving in a good way, i liked it quite a bit

Just saw this at the 12. Zurich Film Festival. For me, what really stands out about this movie is the fact that you don't know where it is going. It was a stressful experience, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. Is it about something supernatural? Is it psychological? Is it ...? I've seen a lot of movies in my life, but rarely one that is unsettling in a very subtle way like this one. I was never really sure what to expect from the movie, and at certain points it was quite unnerving. Honestly at some point during the movie, i was JUST NOT SURE anymore where it was going, which was very suspenseful and at the same time very stressful, haha. Kristen Stewart, whose independent movies i like very much anyway(The Yellow Handkerchief/Welcome to the Rileys/Speak etc), delivers a great performance and really adds a lot to the mood, and you can really feel her psychological stress, especially in a very well done train sequence, and, well.. Telling any more would spoil the experience i feel, that's why i stop now. It's best if you don't know too much about the movie imo.

If you want to see something different/unique, you don't mind a slower pace and you like it if circumstances are not always perfectly clear - this is one for you. 8/10