The Toronto International Film Festival celebrated the 20th anniversary of Olivier Assayas’ film “Irma Vep” (an anagram for ‘vampire’) by showcasing the digitally restored version of the 1996 film. Assayas wrote the script within nine days and within a month, it was filmed on super 16mm.
The film was about Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung travelling to France to work with René Vidal (Jean-Pierre Léaud), an auteur who dreamed of creating Louis Feuillade’s 1915 silent crime film Les Vampires. Many struggles arise when the Parisian film crew doesn’t see eye to eye with René’s vision for the remake (to the point that some are questioning Maggie’s involvement). This film showcased a different perspective as it takes the audience behind-the-scenes with the film crew with its own satirical spin to the creative process.
The film did a fantastic job in expressing the culture shock that Maggie experienced throughout her time working in France. Not only was it done in Maggie’s observations as she noted the differences between the Parisian film crew and the Asian film crews she’s used to back home but it’s done with the language barrier that Maggie constantly faced. To emphasize this fact, the film had split its dialogue between English and French (where French was the unknown for Maggie).
Not only did the film focus on Maggie trying to acclimate herself into the Parisian film crew, it also showed her struggles in connecting with the character of Irma Vep (a burglar in a black latex cat-suit).
Despite all the struggles, Maggie finds herself befriending Zoé (Nathalie Richard), the costume designer for the film and someone who has a crush on Maggie. Even though Zoé had her share of conflicts on set, she made herself available to Maggie in whatever way she was needed. And through Zoé, Maggie was able to learn the true ins and outs of the film crew as well as what makes them all tick.
The digital restoration of the original film allowed for a refined sharpness as well as an improvement of the lighting that was originally used (what was accidentally hidden in the dark could now be seen).
Director: Olivier Assayas
Writer/Screenplay: Olivier Assayas
Country of Origin: France
Language: French | English
Length: 99 minutes
Original Release: April 30, 1997
IMDb | Official Website | Official Trailer
Publication Note:
This was published for AsianWave Magazine.
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