Review of Irma Vep (1996) by Jason J — 18 Sep 2010

I only took a look at this because Maggie Cheung, one of my favorite Hong Kong actresses is in it. Maggie stars as herself who arrives in Paris to star in a remake of an old French classic movie. However, the shoot doesn't go smooth with problem upon problem happening on set culminating in the director Rene Vidal suffering a nervous breakdown. Will the shoot for the movie ever be completed?

Maggie Cheung was just fantastic - serene and professional but increasingly absorbed in the odd role of "Irma Vep". So much so that the role, or at least the black latex catsuit, takes over away from the set, and her scene as Irma in her hotel is one of the movie's two highlights. The rest of the movie is is fascinating, and used as a vehicle for questioning where French cinema was going in the 1990s. This is brought out particularly well when Maggie is interviewed by a cynical French journalist. But somehow the sub-plots ,revolving around the tensions between crew members, don't match or illuminate the central theme. Overall, it's a movie well worth seeing for the star performance by Maggie Cheung but ultimately it's an experiment that doesn't quite come off - but you must stay with it to see the final 5 minutes.