2023.06.21
"Irma Vep" synopsis
Maggie, a Hong Kong movie actress, comes to Paris alone to film the movie ``Irma Vep''. However, the director, René, begins to have a nervous breakdown, and filming becomes difficult. Maggie is at a loss as she is having trouble fitting in with the local staff. Then she slips out of the hotel room wearing an Irma Vep costume.
Index
Introduction with Maggie Cheung
"Goodbye Hollywood." When the voice of Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon echoes through the hotel room, Maggie Cheung, wearing a shiny black costume, undergoes a spectacular transformation into Irma Vep. “Irma Vep” is an anagram of “vampire.” A female thief played by actress Muzidra in Louis Feuillard's Les Vampires (1915). The social "bottom" of Paris in the 1910s and the "slums' thugs". He had a charisma that captivated the surrealists, including Andre Breton. After stealing the jewelry, Maggie- Irma Vep walks across the rooftops of Paris at night. The creaking sound of her black suit soaking in the rain emphasizes her loneliness.
Asians in Paris. René Vidal (Jean-Pierre Léaud), who will be directing the remake of "Les Vampires," will cast a huge star in the Hong Kong film industry to play Irma. Maggie arrives in Paris three days late to shoot a Hong Kong movie. Like Maggie Cheung herself, she grew up in England and cannot speak French. ``Irma Vep'' (1996) obscures the attributes of the heroine in front of the camera by overlaying the real life of Maggie Cheung with the main character. The film's heroine, and incarnation of Irma Vep, functions as the persona of Maggie Cheung.
"Irma Vep" preview
The interlocking exchange of lines and the busy camera work are linked to Maggie- Irma Vep's animal-like movements. As an Asian in Paris, her existence is isolated. However, as an outsider, the more isolated Maggie becomes, the more she begins to shine. This echoes the charisma of actor Maggie Cheung, who cannot be hidden even by a black suit that covers her whole body. The heroine of this work becomes connected to Musidora- Irma Vep's overwhelming charisma in a way that is beyond her control. Having an Asian woman play a charismatic character from the history of French film is a foresight that also applies to modern Hollywood films. First of all, there's Maggie Cheung. This was director Olivier Assayas' first film to feature Maggie Cheung in the lead role.
Christopher Doyle, known as the cinematographer of Wong Kar-wai's films, is reuniting Olivier Assayas and Maggie Cheung.
"I knew right away that Maggie listens to me, understands what I'm saying, and picks up every nuance. And most importantly, her voice impressed me the first time we met. I rediscovered the kindness of people.'' (Olivier Assayas)*
* “Assayas par Assayas” (Olivier Assayas & Jean-Michel Frodon)
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