A chaotic film set, a leading actress caught between reality and fiction, and a director on the verge of a nervous breakdown – the script sounds like a classic drama, but this is about much more. A Hong Kong actress is hired for the remake of a silent film classic and quickly finds herself in a maelstrom of creative crises, production problems and personal tensions. As she immerses herself in her role, she begins to merge with the character, and the boundaries between film and real life become blurred. Olivier Assayas uses this setting to dissect the mechanisms of the film industry with a keen eye. His staging moves effortlessly between satire, reflection on cinema and homage to the French film craft. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes International Film Festival 1996 and was celebrated for its intelligent meta-level and the nuanced performance of Maggie Cheung. The mixture of humorous self-irony and serious examination of the art of filmmaking makes it a unique work that goes far beyond the classic film-in-film theme. The film was praised for its satirical depiction of filmmaking and reflection on the French cinema industry. Maggie Cheung's performance and Assayas' direction received particular acclaim. The film is now considered a cult classic and was reimagined in 2022 by Assayas himself in the form of a miniseries starring Alicia Vikander.
Timeless
1h 39min
12 FSK
FR
DE
FR
EN
Maggie Cheung is to be playing IRMA VEP, a cat-like vampire woman in a skin-tight latex costume, in a silent film remake. But the shoot ends in chaos.
A chaotic film set, a leading actress caught between reality and fiction, and a director on the verge of a nervous breakdown – the script sounds like a classic drama, but this is about much more. A Hong Kong actress is hired for the remake of a silent film classic and quickly finds herself in a maelstrom of creative crises, production problems and personal tensions. As she immerses herself in her role, she begins to merge with the character, and the boundaries between film and real life become blurred.
Olivier Assayas uses this setting to dissect the mechanisms of the film industry with a keen eye. His staging moves effortlessly between satire, reflection on cinema and homage to the French film craft. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes International Film Festival 1996 and was celebrated for its intelligent meta-level and the nuanced performance of Maggie Cheung. The mixture of humorous self-irony and serious examination of the art of filmmaking makes it a unique work that goes far beyond the classic film-in-film theme.
The film was praised for its satirical depiction of filmmaking and reflection on the French cinema industry. Maggie Cheung's performance and Assayas' direction received particular acclaim. The film is now considered a cult classic and was reimagined in 2022 by Assayas himself in the form of a miniseries starring Alicia Vikander.