Review of Holy Motors (2012) by Brett B — 28 Dec 2012

I'm not even sure where to begin, other than to say that HOLY MOTORS is the year's strangest, most audacious, most out-there film. It's utterly unclassifiable, a wholly original and unique story that's unlike anything I've seen in a long time.

Denis Lavant gives a performance (actually, it's more like several performances) that needs to be seen to be believed, and it fits in perfectly with the surreal and dreamlike quality that director Leos Carax gives to film.

The scenarios and vignettes that are presented to us are fantastically and aggressively bizarre, with some of them being funny, others creepy, and others oddly uplifting. The true nature of Lavant's actions is left wonderfully ambiguous, and like the overall story itself, the audience is allowed to decide for themselves the meaning of what they've witnessed.

As such, it's a difficult film, one not easily digested, and it is most certainly not for everybody. Personally, I'm not even sure I liked the film, so much as I was floored by it.