Holy Motors

Usually you see a film and right away you know 1) if you enjoyed it, and 2) if you'd bother seeing it again. Once in awhile you get a movie that you sit through, and afterwards you just go "okay" and go to bed. But the next morning that movie is playing again, in your mind, whether you like it or not. And next thing you know, it's all you can think about. Because somewhere deep down is a whisper telling you that you missed something. That the puzzle of a movie, which seemed to make very little sense at first, actually has a solution somewhere under the surface.

I would say Holy Motors is that type of movie. It is a film by French director Leos Carax.

Netflix: Yes

Pick: Darjeeling Tea

Dylan: How strange is it that we happen upon another film about a guy driving around in a limousine, so soon after doing Cosmopolis?

Mark:  Pretty fucking strange.  And we did not plan that, this is purely by chance.

Dylan: I picked this movie pretty much because I thought the cover looked cool. I had no idea it would (seemingly) be about a guy being driven around Paris, assuming the identities of different...people, over the course of a single day. Needless to say, there are going to be many comparisons to Cosmopolis, so get ready. And if you’re still not intrigued, let me throw a few things at you: murder, alien sex, Eva Mendes.

Mark:  I’m on the fence with this one.  I’ve had some time to mull it over, really let it sink in.  And it hasn’t really gotten less blurry.  Not so much the overall concept of the movie; what with it being about a man who takes on the personas of several different people and does really kind of bizarre things, but rather, it comes down to the why.  I have no idea what the point of it all was.  Without having read anything I wouldn’t know what Leos Carax was trying to do.

Dylan: Well, first I would like to point out -- and I hope this isn’t a spoiler -- that this movie is a fantasy. And maybe it will help to view it that way when you go into it. Because even though there are parts where you think “okay, this is pretty unlikely for real life”, the actual rules of reality aren’t tossed out the window until more than halfway through the movie. And I’m thinking that if I had started it out with different expectations, I would have gotten more out of it. Where I stand now, I am still not sure what to say about it. I enjoyed it. But I am struggling to decode the hidden messages.

Mark: I think that right there is the real sticking point with me: if I started with different expectations.  I had no idea what this was about beyond some guy in a limo with odd things happening.  Then things took a turn into the bizarre and it lost me.  This movie tells you nothing in terms of the characters, who they are, or why any of this is happening.  And it wasn’t so much that I wasn’t being told this, but rather that there were so many different answers that could be right, but the movie refused to tell me which were and which weren’t.  I don’t know if he’s taking on these personas because he’s been paid to act as certain people for people, or if he’s actually doing scenes from movies since he is acting these roles out, or if he’s just a fucking nutter.  You just go along for the ride.

Dylan: Well part of that is the fantasy of it. You see that he reviews a file before donning each costume, and there is that guy there that you assume is some sort of employer. At the end you realize that there are other people like this; some sort of network of people -- perhaps all over the world (since the other woman speaks English) -- whose job it is to be other people. Are they ACTUALLY the other people or are they playing a role? I don’t know. The first scenario that really made this clear for me out was when he was the dying uncle, and then after he ‘passed away’, he got up right in front of the bereft niece and walked away. She wasn’t shocked. It was all part of some sort of natural act. So I don’t know. Is this a commentary on humanity? The soul? Maybe, I’m still working on that. But there is also the role of the old Russian beggar, which really seems to serve no purpose.

Mark:  

So why are they doing this?  I had assumed that he was fulfilling roles for people.  Hired to pick up the daughter and act as a father for her.  Hired, when I first saw this, to be the dying uncle so the woman could grieve, assuming she didn’t get the chance.  But then we find out the woman is also in a persona.  My point is it just adds to the overall confusion.  I do actually think this is playing on perception in some way.  We’re witnessing events that we know are being acted out and planned, but everyone else doesn't know that.  Or do they?  Fuck, I need a drink.

Dylan: Well, his character is clearly not human. Right? I mean, we see him putting on costumes and makeup and we get the impression that this is just some guy. But then we see things that just aren’t possible. So what is he, an angel, a fucking wizard? I think when you try to find an answer to ALL the questions, you get lost. The key is to pick and choose how you want to understand, in order to take away from it what you want/can. I mean, I sort of thought I had it down, and then there was that last scene, which threw me way off. I guess it’s frustrating to not have a solid answer. But it reminds of that map from Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (not that I'm saying that movie isn't even remotely similar to this one. This is just what comes to mind); you can rearrange the different pieces in order to show different maps and messages. There’s more than one solution, but you can’t have them all at once. Know what I’m saying?

Mark:  No, I understand you.  And let’s not bring up that final scene, cause that both infuriates me and confuses me at the same time.  And I guess that’s true, trying to focus in on everything that could be happening will lead to nothing.  And I didn’t think he wasn’t human, I just didn’t know where the line between reality and fantasy was and how much was being blurred as we went along.  There is a scene where everything starts getting blurred together as the limo moves forward.  I really think this is when we kinda realize that what’s real and what’s fantasy doesn’t matter, cause we’re not gonna know.  But just to jump off the meta narrative confusion, I really thought this was shot well, with a lot of interesting shots throughout the movie.  The best for me, which was also really confusing in and of itself, was the musical interlude.  Out of the blue, our lead suddenly takes up the accordion and begins playing as more people join in.  It’s all done in one take and is a really interestingly set-up scene.

Dylan: Oh yea, I forgot about that scene. And yea...that scene. What is the point? How does it fit into the rest of...oh god, forget it. But that also reminds me of those short bits of black and white movie footage. I’m not really sure what the purpose was there. Oh -- now things are coming back to me -- I am also trying to figure out the whole opening scene, and more importantly, why he asks the limo driver if there’ll be any appointments in the woods today. Dammit, I want to know what this movie is about!! It’s brilliant but lazy! ...Just like Spider-Man. Anyways, I’m going to re-watch that opening couple of minutes right now. In the meantime, you talk...

Mark: Look, I could go on and on about the narrative and what it’s trying to accomplish.  And I think in retrospect, that has kind of changed my view on the movie.  I still kinda hate it for having an up-it’s-own-ass narrative, but the fact that I can see so many angles of the movie and what each moment might be trying to do puts it in a better light for me.  It requires you to pay attention without focusing on it too hard or you’ll miss the broader strokes.  But focus too lightly, and you’ll miss the finer details.  Some really interesting scenes coupled with a confusing -- though not impenetrable, like Cosmopolis -- narrative leaves me saying I’d recommend this if you want something to discuss.  And I can guarantee it’s like nothing you’ve seen before.  So there’s that.  Let’s see if he’s back now...

Dylan: Okay, yea, just rewatched the first bit. It starts with a snippet of silent film, followed by a theater audience that seems to be asleep. And then the director wakes up in a hotel room, pushes through a wall with forest-themed wallpaper and winds up in the same theater. Enter a couple dogs and a child, and that’s the scene. And that’s why the forest comment halfway through the movie stuck out to me. Ah, whatever. The difference I see between this movie and Cosmopolis is that this movie makes me want to think more about it. Whereas Cosmopolis lost me five minutes in, and then never even attempted to get me back, this film managed to fascinate me. I just...can’t...say...why. So yea, I recommend it for people like me, who want a puzzle of a movie that they can chew over for a while. It’s also a movie that I would be willing to watch again, and I intend to browse the web for other people’s interpretations.

Mark:  I think I’d be willing to watch again with more people around, so I can stop and turn to someone and say “what the fuck was that about?”

Dylan: I mean, I sat through Beyond the Black Rainbow, and who knows what that 69 minute acid trip was about?

Mark: I sat through Versus and that’s a yakuza/zombie/wizard/prison escape/samurai/magical/kung-fu/post-apocalyptic bonanza of confusion.

Dylan: You make that sound like a bad thing.

------------------------------------------------------------

As you have probably already figured out, at the time I write my little intros and conclusions, the conversation between Mark and I has already been recorded. Since all that, I have scoured the web for a better understanding of this movie. And it wasn't very difficult to find one. Those guys at Fader went one step farther than we did and actually identified some of the patterns that Mark and I couldn't quite wrap our minds around. Now I definitely want to watch the movie again.

Our next film will be The Devil's Double, which, given the cover, I assume is a spin-off story about Goldfinger's son. And on that note, "why don't we take a five minute break. Smoke if ya got 'em."