- Maggie Cheung (2046) gives a bravura performance as a complex, troubled woman who is trying to forge a bond with her young son, while at the same time healing and distancing herself from a past full of drugs, jail, and turbulent relationships. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:Â DRAMA Rating:Â R Age:Â 660200313722 UPC:Â 660200313722 Manufacturer No:Â PALMDV3137
Two snake demons and their love-hate relationships with mortal men is a dazzling visual feast filled with unforgettable images. Features: dolby digital sound. Languages: cantonese mandarin english and chinese subtitles. Trailers chapters. Studio: Tai Seng Entertainment Release Date: 08/23/2005 Starring: Maggie Cheung Run time: 98 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Tsui HarkHong Kong action diva Maggie Cheung (
Ashes of Time Redux,
In the Mood for Love) plays herself in Olivier Assayas' spiky satire of the French film industry. After! seeing her in Johnny To's
Heroic Trio, past-his-prime director René Vidal (New Wave legend Jean-Pierre Léaud) impetuously casts Cheung as the lead in his remake of the silent classic
Les Vampires. Unable to speak a word of French, Cheung tries to navigate the disorganized production while clad in a head-to-toe rubber catsuit and receiving cryptic direction from Vidal. Things only get crazier as she juggles a lovesick bisexual costumer (Nathalie Richard), a gossipy executive's wife (Bulle Ogier) and the whole backbiting crew. With freewheeling shots choreographed to the strains of Sonic Youth and Luna,
Irma Vep immerses the viewer into the heady desperation and
l'amour fou of modern moviemaking. Zeitgeist Films celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a sparkling new DVD release of this supercool comic gem.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- 16:9 Anamorphic transfer, available for the first time in North America
- Audio commentary: a discussion with d! irector Olivier Assayas and critic Jean-Michel Frodon
- 30 ! minutes of never before seen on-set footage, plus an additional audio essay by Assayas and Frodon
- "Man Yuk: A Portrait of Maggie Cheung" (1997), a short film by Assayas
- Black-and-white rushes of Cheung as Irma Vep on Parisian rooftops
- Original French theatrical trailer
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- 16-page booklet with essays on Maggie Cheung and
Les Vampires director Louis Feuillade by Assayas, and a new appreciation by critic Kent JonesIn the tradition of films about filmmaking,
Irma Vep takes its own special place among such films as Fellini's
8½. A has-been director decides to remake the silent French serial film
Les Vampires starring a Hong Kong action film superstar. The production is falling behind schedule and its star, Maggie Cheung (who plays herself), finds herself an outsider with the film's crew save for a woman costumer (Nathalie Richard) who has a crush on her. Rene the director (Jea! n-Pierre Leaud) cast Maggie after viewing one of her many martial-arts fantasy films. Although he finds her perfect for the part of the jewel thief in
Les Vampires, the rest of the crew cannot see the reasons for casting Maggie beyond her beauty and how she looks in her tight-fitting latex costume. Rene's vision is soon lost on everyone and he suffers a mental breakdown. The film is reassigned to Jose (Lou Castel), a seemingly more commanding director (although he takes the job because his welfare is about to run out), whose first decision is to fire Maggie.
Irma Vep is presented as a comedy, but at its heart lies an examination of the art and craft of filmmaking. In a clever turn, Maggie creeps around her hotel getting into character, in essence remaking
Irma Vep for real-life director Olivier Assayas. Assayas wrote the film in 10 days and shot the film in a month after meeting Maggie Cheung at a film festival--a fascinating case of life imitating art.! .. or is it the other way around?
--Shannon GeeEmily Wa! ng (Magg ie Cheung) is a woman who wrestles with her dream of becoming a singer, her fitness as a mother, and daily life without her partner Lee (James Johnston). Her past is riddled with drugs and regrets, the result of which left Lee dead in a desolate motel room in Hamilton, Ontario, and landed Emily with a six-month jail sentence. The only thing that she desires for the future is a loving relationship with her son Jay, who is being cared for by Lee’s parents, Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary (Martha Henry). While Rosemary blames Emily for the death of Lee, Albrecht recognizes the importance of the bond between a mother and her son, and his faith sets the standard for the faith Emily must find in herself. CLEAN follows Emily to Hamilton, Paris, London and San Francisco and in three languages, as she battle for a place in a world reluctant to forget the woman she has been and unwilling to accept her as the woman she longs to be.After the uncharacteristically epic
Les Des! tinées and surprisingly cynical
Demonlover, Olivier Assayas got his groove back with the cautiously optimistic
Clean. Granted, the globe-trotting tale gets off to a grim start, but the grace notes gradually begin to accumulate. Corkscrew-coiffed Emily (Hong Kong superstar Maggie Cheung) is the outspoken lover of struggling musician Lee (James Johnston, formerly of Brit band Gallon Drunk). She's also a heroin addict, just like her partner. When he dies from an overdose, she does time for possession, while his Canadian parents, Albrecht (Nick Nolte in a nicely-shaded performance) and Rosemary (Martha Henry), gain custody of son Jay (James Dennis). Upon release, Emily returns to France to find work, stay clean, and earn the right to reclaim her child. Except for Albrecht, no one believes she can pull it off. Worse yet, many hold her responsible for Lee's death. (The echoes of Courtney Love and Yoko Ono can't be coincidental.) A decade has passed since Assaya! s directed Cheung in the dazzling
Irma Vep. Since that ! time, th ey married and divorced, but the professional relationship persists, culminating in a Best Actress award at Cannes for a performance that calls for dialogue in English, French, and Cantonese--even some singing. As suggested by the title,
Clean is cool and somewhat detached, an effect reinforced by Éric Gautier's crisp cinematography and a soundtrack heavy on early Eno, but it sidesteps the histrionics frequently associated with the recovery film. Featuring Tricky and David Roback (Mazzy Star) as themselves.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy 
9:03 PM
admin
