So much painstaking craft went into this film, including deeply committed performances by Lea Seydoux and George MacKay, that it's unfortunate that this layered and ambitious work goes down as a misfire. It was a close call throughout. As uneven as it is, I kept wanting to see where it was going. Very little would have had to change to give this a passing mark. Extremely hit and miss, it's one of more frustrating films in recent memory.
While it can be quite a slog in the early going, the film constructs a gripping storyline as it jumps from one distant era to the next. The story envisions a young woman in a bleak, soulless future in Paris where society is dominated by A. I. and human economic utility and normal emotions have been marginalized or rendered anachronistic. She is seeking to wipe her psyche clear of past traumas, which require her to return to a couple of past lives which have still left an emotional impact. It is along the way that she keeps crossing paths with the same enigmatic male stranger.
Some plot threads are more compelling than others. A terrible fire in a doll factory is expertly depicted. MacKay's character dramatically devolves in the middle era. A portrayal of an austere early 20th century Europe, a malcontent early 21st century Los Angeles and a bleak future all make the structure of the plot very intriguing. Where the film falls short is its execution. Mementos ranging from pigeons to dolls to surgery all feel like more like cheap, manufactured road posts than compelling metaphors or effective symbolism. Even if one can overlook that, a sloppy and ludicrous ending ultimately sinks the film.
It bears repeating that foreign films, especially French films, often get away with all kinds of poor quality that would normally get a Hollywood film eviscerated every which way. It's not the first time I've seen this. When a film like this comes along, that double standard is all too visible to ignore. Not recommended.
While it can be quite a slog in the early going, the film constructs a gripping storyline as it jumps from one distant era to the next. The story envisions a young woman in a bleak, soulless future in Paris where society is dominated by A. I. and human economic utility and normal emotions have been marginalized or rendered anachronistic. She is seeking to wipe her psyche clear of past traumas, which require her to return to a couple of past lives which have still left an emotional impact. It is along the way that she keeps crossing paths with the same enigmatic male stranger.
Some plot threads are more compelling than others. A terrible fire in a doll factory is expertly depicted. MacKay's character dramatically devolves in the middle era. A portrayal of an austere early 20th century Europe, a malcontent early 21st century Los Angeles and a bleak future all make the structure of the plot very intriguing. Where the film falls short is its execution. Mementos ranging from pigeons to dolls to surgery all feel like more like cheap, manufactured road posts than compelling metaphors or effective symbolism. Even if one can overlook that, a sloppy and ludicrous ending ultimately sinks the film.
It bears repeating that foreign films, especially French films, often get away with all kinds of poor quality that would normally get a Hollywood film eviscerated every which way. It's not the first time I've seen this. When a film like this comes along, that double standard is all too visible to ignore. Not recommended.