Review of Holy Motors (2012) by Seb M — 27 Sep 2012

A white limousine traverses the streets of Paris for one day. Driven by an old woman Celine (Edith Scob) and carrying Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant), the car is equipped with theater costumes and makeup. Monsieur Oscar spends his time in the car getting in character, dressing himself up and applying makeup. When he is ready, the limousine stops and the character he has created emerges into a reality he belongs to.

"Holy Motors" can be viewed as a collection of different short films, all magically excellent, mysterious and intriguing. Lavant transforms magnificently in Leos Carax's visionary direction and we get submerged in a cavalcade of peculiar realities. But "Holy Motors" is even more than a perfect anthology. The unifying story of the limousine might be the most compelling mystery of the whole film. Monsieur Oscar seems to be an entity that travels from one fictional universe to the next, the limousine an in-between, a state not quite there.

I can't claim to understand this movie fully, but each of its chapters is filled with emotion and meaning, the movie as a whole a surreal, Lynchian dream that won't leave you alone. It's amazing to experience a piece of fiction that has such a powerful reality of its own, let alone one that has several. Masterful and unforgettable cinematic magic, that's what "Holy Motors" is.