Review of Holy Motors (2012) by Zane W — 19 Nov 2012

Wildly engaging, completely unpredictable, visually entrancing, and undoubtedly strange, Holy Motors is representative of the other side of the coin when it comes to cinema. It is a cross between Avant-Garde and narrative cinema where several instances of the plot are so unbelievably out of nowhere that it makes it a joy to see what on Earth is coming next. There is an overall narrative arc, which is why it doesn't fall straight into Avant-Garde only. The arc revolves around a day in the life of Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant). He has an unspecified job (A summary I found depicted his occupation as follows: " He is, in turn, captain of industry, assassin, beggar, monster, family man... He seems to be playing roles, plunging headlong into each part - but where are the cameras?) and an unspecified life. It is not known if the house and family he leaves in the morning to go to his appointments are actually his family and kids by the film's end. It is not known if Monsieur Oscar is even his real name. It is not known if Oscar even knows who he is himself.

We follow Oscar around the city of Paris in a limo, accompanied by his loyal limo driver, Celine. He goes from appointment to appointment, from dawn till dusk, performing the most unheralded tasks imaginable. The vast majority of the fun of this film is the craziness of each task making it difficult to discuss. The limo is equipped with a mirror and countless amounts of wigs, props, and anything that helps to completely change the appearance of Oscar. He takes on a different identity for each role he plays, playing into the identity crisis discussed previously. The first role he plays is that of an elderly, bent over woman asking for spare change on the streets of Paris. In another appointment, he takes on the role of a father picking up his daughter from a party, as if it is actually his daughter. He gets angry when he finds out she had just lied to him and tells her he will have to punish her before leaving her on a corner of the building she supposedly lives in. One other task shows Oscar becoming involved in a flash mob of sorts. It is a musical number with only accordions where Oscar takes the lead with several other random people following behind him. These are not even close to the strangest of the tasks, but I'd rather leave those to those who are interested in a break from mainstream cinema.

This is a harder film to review because it tries to be unconventional. Leos Carax most definitely has a creative eye and it is reflected in everything from his shot selections to his collaboration with his Director or Photography on the wonderful lighting to accentuate the eccentricities of the film. If you have an open mind to the wonderful art form of the movies, this film is certainly worth a try.

Just to try and sell the film further I leave you with one other appointment. If you would like to see Eva Mendes singing a lullaby to an naked older man with a full blown erection in a cave of some sort, go see this film.