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| Spanish poster artwork for the drama comedy existentialist film Holy Motors. |
Extraordinarily
Existentialist by Linh
In his play *As You Like It, Act II, scene vii,
playwright William Shakespeare wrote:
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts” (Hattaway
2009).
Shakespeare’s words appear to form the basic premise of
French director Leos Carax’s thought-provoking and baffling film Holy Motors. However, there are many
complex layers to this film and they all seem to be connected to existentialist
ideas of human existence and human connections with each other and with nature.
There are combinations of religious and philosophical references that appear together
in various scenes in the film involving particular characters.
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PHILOSOPHICAL
PERFORMER: Oscar (Denis Lavant) prepares for another 'appointment'
inside his car in the film Holy Motors.
Image: Wild Bunch, Icon Film.
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The film opens with an extract of images from an early
silent black and white film briefly featuring a naked man. Then we see a packed
cinema with the audience watching a film, yet the audience in the film is
facing towards the (unseen) camera or the viewer, which in turn seems to make the
real life viewer/audience feel like they are being watched. This is possibly a
reference to a concept in film theory called “the gaze” which involves
looking/gazing at things from a subject/object perspective. Immediately
following this somewhat confronting moment, we see a man (director Leos Carax)
in bed and his dog is next to him on the bed. We watch him get out of bed and
walk towards a wall that appears like a forest. He discovers a hidden door in
the wall that leads him to a darkened theatre. On the theatre balcony, the man
watches the cinema screen and from this point, we move to another dimension of
this bizarre film.
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FANTASY
FREAK: Oscar (Denis Lavant) as the leprechaun-man in the film Holy Motors. Image: Wild Bunch, Icon
Film.
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Holy
Motors could be set some time in the near future where the
cameras for surveillance and filming cinema are so microscopic that they are
almost invisible. An actor named Oscar (Denis Lavant) is completing his final
“appointment” as a banker from the previous day when his limousine driver
Céline (Edith Scob) arrives to take him to his other “appointments” for the
day. These “appointments” may be another term for “acting gig/role” but could
also refer to an existentialist and/or religious idea of “incarnation”. Carax
has cleverly combined the two ideas of “incarnation” as it is “in a car” where
we see Oscar change his appearance and personality to portray a particular
person for each “appointment”. The viewer is taken along for the ride as Oscar
changes from one character to the next inside his car, and not only performs as
an actor, but is living his life through his characters. His performances are
part of his life and each character is a part of himself.
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MUSICAL
MUSE: Oscar (Denis Lavant) and Jean (Kylie Minogue) share a
brief moment together before she 'jumps' in the film Holy Motors. Image: Wild Bunch, Icon Films.
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Denis Levant (The
Lovers On The Bridge, Michael
Kohlhaas) is brilliantly attuned to all the idiosyncracies of his eleven
characters he portrays in Holy Motors,
particularly as the seemingly tired yet energetic Oscar. Lavant has previously
encountered only one of the characters he portrays in the film, which is the
freaky red-haired leprechaun-man who speaks his own gibberish language and eats
flowers. Lavant has worked with Carax in other films including Tokyo!, a collaboration with directors
Joon-ho Bong and Michel Gondry, which features the leprechaun-man in a segment
of the film called Merde. The other
ten characters are well performed as they give insights or even represent aspects
of human nature and the human condition including death, love, loneliness,
morals, trust and family.
Edith Scob (Par
Exemple Electre, Summer Hours)
is wonderful and likeable as Oscar’s driver Céline, who takes him to all his
“appointments” and organises his daily “files”. She is the calm and resourceful
assistant who ensures Oscar is in good health each day and has enough supplies
for his “appointments”. Céline could be the ‘holy motor’ named in the film’s
title if we combine a religious and existentialist idea to her name. ‘Céline’
is the French version of the Latin meaning “heaven or heavenly”, which implies
something divine or holy in a religious sense and her driving may make her the
‘driving force’ as in the "will" in existentialism. This could be
another example of how Carax has fused philosophy and religion together into
his film with his characters.
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HEAVEN'S
HELPER: Céline (Edith Scob) assists Oscar (Denis Lavant) when he
is shot several times in the chest in the film Holy Motors. Image: Wild Bunch, Icon Films.
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The supporting cast is exceptional and the actors leave
lasting impressions on the viewer, despite their brief appearances. Michel
Piccoli (We Have A Pope, You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet) is superb as
the mysterious man with the facial birthmark from the “Agency” who hires Oscar.
The mysterious man appears in the car as if he represents a manifestation of
Oscar’s mind/subconsciousness, to reassure him that he needs to keep up with
his “appointments” even if he is tired because he loves “the beauty of the
act”.
The chameleon-like Australian actor-singer Kylie Minogue
plays a dual role in the film, as an actor and Oscar’s former lover named Jean,
who portrays a character named Eva Grace. Minogue is better known for her
music, but her performance in this film is captivating and one feels moved when
watching or listening to her sing the song ‘Who Were We?’ Jean-Luc Godard is
reportedly a director whom Carax finds inspirational for film-making and
existentialism in films, so it is interesting to note that Minogue’s
character’s name is Jean, and the wig and trench coat she wears makes her look
a lot like the actor Jean Seberg from Godard’s film Breathless/ À bout de soufflé.
Eva Mendes (The
Place Beyond The Pines, How To Catch
A Monster) is intriguing as the fashion model Kay M. who does not speak in
this film but sings a few lines of a lullaby to Oscar’s leprechaun-man
character. She embodies the beauty, grace and charm of a woman who is single,
independent and intelligent, as if she is not just one woman but represents
every woman.
Russian-born human contortionist Zlata gives an
astonishing and entertaining performance as Oscar’s motion-capture co-star in a
darkened film studio for an animated project. Zlata’s flexibility and agility
makes her ideal for the role and Lavant is equally competent as her partner in
the love-making manoeuvres.
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MOTORING
MASK: Céline (Edith Scob) wears her mask after completing her
day's work, a clear reference to her earlier film Eyes Without A Face, in the film Holy Motors. Image: Wild Bunch, Icon Film.
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Holy
Motors is not only about existentialism, religion and French
film referencing. It is also about the essence of cinema and its potential to
bring about changes, both good and bad, to society and individuals. Carax has
managed to tap into the philosophy of film and human existence, to create a
cinematic harmony between the two using Shakespearean and other artistic works
as inspiration. This film is a must-watch for those who love cinema as an
artform or as something that tells us things about ourselves individually or as
a society.
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MOTION-CAPTURED
MANOEUVRES: The cyber-woman (Zlata) and Oscar (Denis
Lavant) make movie magic in a motion-capture studio in the film Holy Motors. Image: Wild Bunch, Icon
Films.
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*Shakespeare,
William. As You Like It. Ed. Michael
Hattaway. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 2009.
Director:
Leos Carax
Writer:
Leos Carax (screenplay)
Cast:
Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Michel Piccoli, Zlata, Eva Mendes, Elise L’Homeau,
Jean Disson, Kylie Minogue, Leos Carax, Nastya Golubeva Carax, Big John, Corinne
Yam, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Geoffrey Carey
Producers: Albert
Prévost, Maurice Tinchant, Martine Marignac
Cinematographer:
Caroline Champatier, Yves Cape
Film
Editor: Nelly Quettier
Production:
Florian Sanson (Production Designer), Emmanuelle Cuillery (Art Director)
Costume
Designer: Anaïs Romand
Languages: French,
English and Mandarin Chinese, with English subtitles
Running
Time: 2 hours
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