bastard wisher This is a very solid film, make no mistake, but it tends to play more like a testing ground for various elements of Olivier Assayas' overall style, particularly those which he would later explore more fully in his later masterpiece "Demonlover", than any sort of cohesive narrative statement. It's not very often that a film strikes me as not having enough of a plot, but in the case of this there did seem to be a certain irrelevance to it all. There's nothing really new about the "making a movie" movie, and this doesn't add much to the mix, although i do think it is well done for what it is, and occasionally even approaches a sort of proto-"Lost in Translation", with Paris standing in for Tokyo and Maggie Cheung's Asian "otherness" replacing Bill Murray's fish-out-of-water Americanness. But the film is never really focused enough to compare in any significant way to that film. "Irma Vep" really only comes alive when Assayas gets away from his nagging tendency towards a certain French talkiness and indulges in the moments of pure visual cinema that make up the other half of his general approach (and which seem to be invested with much more enthusiasm here) , such as the scene scored to Sonic Youth's "Tunic" (another foreshadowing of "Demonlover"). Certainly he does have a way with capturing pretty little images of neon lights reflecting through car windows and things like that, enough that I can acknowledge he is definitely a talented filmmaker, but within this film he never quite finds the correct way to integrate his little artistic flourishes into the whole, and overall the film feels more like a collection of separate ideas than a cohesive statement of any kind.

Harry T. Yung An odd little piece of cinematic work by Olivier Assayas on a brief episode (fictional) about a Hong Kong actress brought to France by an eccentric director to play the title role in his revival of a silent movie, Irma Vep makes reference to, among other things, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in "Batman Returns" (1992), in the context of the body tight latex outfit designed for the heroine.As a movie about making movies, Irma Vep has considerably less to offer than Truffaut's "Day for Night" (1973). However, Maggie Cheung, 8 years before winning best actress in Cannes with "Clean" (2004) and playing herself in this stylish satire, was well received by critics, one of whom described one of her scenes thus: "When Maggie hears that Zoé is attracted to her, she's both charmed and incredulous: a swath of emotions, from confusion to cautious delight, passes across her face with the subtlety and playfulness of ripples on a lake." With only a hint of a plot, Irma Vep looks more like a series or sketches, or even a documentary, sustained by nervous energy. While the satire on the current (1996) state of movie-making in France would mean considerably more to people familiar with the scene, the movie on the while is more style than substance to the general audience.

MicheleFilm We are introduced to `Irma Vep'(1996) as Maggie Cheung, playing herself, arrives on the frantic set of the film within a film remake of Louis Feuillade's `Les Vampires'. Maggie struggles to overcome a severe language barrier as she's introduced to the crew. Olivier Assayas exhibits beautiful camera work and an enticing introspective view into film making while commenting on contemporary French cinema. The director of the film within the film, René Vidal, recruits Maggie Cheung as the leading lady because he feels no French woman could do justice to the remake of the highly regarded silent film `Les Vampires'. This leads to a culture clash as a Hong Kong star is asked to portray one of the more dominant French female roles of the past. It quickly becomes apparent that René is obsessed with Maggie as they view some of her previous films together. René goes on and on about her beauty and grace in one of her Hong Kong fighter flicks and ignores Maggie when she tries to explain that it wasn't even her in the scenes he's praising. Of course Maggie must be properly outfitted for her role as the new vampiress. This is where she encounters the costume designer Zoé, Nathalie Richard. Like René, Zoé quickly becomes taken in by Maggie and develops a crush on her as well. At the fitting we see Maggie's role of the female present for the males pleasure. Though Maggie makes it clear she is terribly uncomfortable in the latex suit Zoé, René's ambassador, insists that it was exactly what René wanted, which of course all that matters. Maggie is the ultimate victim of the male eye as she is lonely, isolated in a foreign city and therefore forced to fulfill all the wishes of the male director. While throughout most of `Irma Vep' Maggie is objectified by stereotypes of the female as quiet, attractive and most importantly, obedient there is one scene where Maggie is allowed to break free from this role. In the only sequence Maggie is alone we enter the hotel room via fast paced camera movement, accompanied by loud equally quick moving music. Maggie fitted in her costume sneaks around the hotel stealing jewelry from an unsuspecting hotel guest. This scene is a powerful addition to the film as it allows the female to be the dominant party calling the shots independently of the male gaze.After this scene in which we're exposed to an alternate side of Maggie, René suffers a nervous break down and the fate of the film, as well as its leading lady's job is uncertain. It seems ironic how after this scene the course of the film within the film grows doubtful. Assayas has created a brilliant film that exposes the inner workings and troubles of the hidden cinematic apparatus and even allows for the development of a break through leading lady. Unfortunately Olivier Assayas doesn't allow for the complete breaking of stereotypes that females fall victim to and maintains the past tradition of keeping even the heroine subject to male dominancy in the cinematic gaze.

gadykozma I loved the way the movie changes all the time, you never know what really to expect, and every "plot twist" is really a genre twist - is it a movie about the film industry? A French talkfest? A psychological drama? and others that I won't reveal. Maggie Cheung is great, Nathalie Richard is as cute as can be and Lou Castel shines in his small but crucial role. A must see.