| C+ | Fantastic Fest 2023 |
I’m always wary of stories that require context.
I’d read all the fest’s films’ descriptions two weeks ago, so by the time I saw this movie I’d completely forgotten what it was about. And watching it tonight, I was not overly impressed. The main character was a film director with ADD (my layman’s diagnosis) who stopped taking his medication. During the weeks while his editor was cutting his movie, he flitted around from one project to another (some related to the film he was making, some not), pissing off everyone whose path he crossed, avoiding watching any cut of his film, all while being conceited and weird. As far as I could tell, his “arc” was silently deciding to take his meds again. I don’t know, if the guy wasn’t such a jerk I might have enjoyed watching him in operation more.
All the credits were at the end of the movie, and when the director’s name (the famed Michel Gondry) scrolled up the screen I suddenly remembered what the movie was described as being about. A portrait of an obsessive young director, partially based on Gondry’s earlier years. At which point I thought, “Okay, if it’s based on stuff he went through personally, then I buy it.”
But on reflection, I don’t really buy it. Biographical movies are still expected to present us with an overall story and/or themes and/or “lessons” from the person’s life, and I did not see that in this semi-autobiographical film. Even if I consider it a character study (perhaps the proper category, given the amount of the character’s internal dialog we got to hear), I would expect more depth to the scenarios we were shown.
I’ve added a + to my initial C rating because the movie is based on Gondry’s personal experiences. But in the end, my attitude towards the main character is still, “who cares?” If it had been a good story, whether based on reality or on its own strengths, I would have appreciated it more.
Trailer (sorry, it’s in French without English subtitles)
