Irma Vep (1996)
An interesting piece from director Olivier Assayas starring Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung playing herself as she gets a role in a French film - a remake of silent classic Les vampires - and all the struggles and strifes that come with making a movie with a distinctly odd director (Jean-Pierre Léaud).
Having re-watched Asia Argento's Scarlet Diva recently it remains in my thinking and Irma Vep felt and looked like a continuation of that way of thinking. Semi autobiographical, ad-hoc script, complete Guerrilla film making.
Maggie suffers a sense of isolation being the only non-French speaker among the cast and witnesses the on set turmoil and petty jealousies first hand. In some way it's an essay on French cinema of the time, in fact an interview Maggie does with a French journo sums it all up beautifully as they couldn't give a damn about the Les Vampires remake and are more interested in Maggie's more familiar roles alongside Jackie Chan.
There's a lengthy scene shot in a Paris sex shop as Maggie and a couple of costume women from the film kit her out in a skintight latex catsuit. It's all very impromptu and natural and not as pervy as you might expect (or hope). Yet it's the catsuit that eventually gives Maggie the power to come to terms and navigate the snobbishness of French film making at the time. The scenes of her (and her stunt double) prowling the rooftops in their latex outfits are especially memorable and although clearly objectified she is quite obviously liberated from all the bullshit.
Irma Vep isn't perfect by any means. Some scenes are overlong, even in a ninety odd minute movie, and it's largely unfocused , jumping randomly from scene to scene. But it is a provocative and at times quite funny satirical look at cinema.
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