I feel downright churlish for not going completely crazy for this funny/sad look at movie- making -- specifically the rather absurd, doomed remaking of a real French classic, by an aging, out of style art-house director, starring Hong Kong action heroine Maggie Chung, who plays herself delightfully. I enjoyed the film; its sort of a complex 1990s 'Day for Night', with a paradoxical and sometimes confusing point of view about the nature of art and the state of film. But I couldn't see it for the masterpiece a number of intelligent critics gave it credit for being. Jonathan Rosenbaum, the terrific critic from the Chicago Reader wrote a very long, in depth analysis that went right over my head, and then added insult to injury by implying that people who don't see the film as a deep investigation of the evils of capitalism, and the meaning of ART are somehow shallow. I'm also surprised by the number of people who take the ramblings of an obnoxious reporter character in the film about the death of French art cinema as being the film's point of view on these issues. To me the film isn't taking sides, and seems to be gently satirizing, and yet embracing all of film. Good natured, well acted, and occasionally brave (but also occasionally obscure) I quite enjoyed this and it did provoke some thinking. But I couldn't see it as the super deep film some did. For me, it was fun, but the ideas are far less deep or radical then critics seem to want to give them credit for being.

I got hold of this DVD because of its reputation as an unknown, recent, experimental French art film. It was certainly experimental although to avoid spoilers I shall not indicate how (or when). But the overall impact was rather disappointing. Maggie Cheung, playing herself, was just fantastic - serene and professional but increasingly absorbed in the odd role of "Irma Vep" (yes, it's an anagram). So much so that the role, or at least the black latex catsuit, takes over away from the set, and her scene as Irma in her hotel is one of the film's two highlights.The basic premise - ageing film-maker (good performance by Jen-Pierre Leaud) making his tribute to the innocent days of early French silent cinema - is fascinating, and used as a vehicle for questioning where French cinema is going in the 1990s. This is brought out particularly well when Maggie is interviewed by a cynical French journalist. But somehow the sub-plots,revolving around the tensions between crew members, don't match or illuminate the central theme. So a film well worth seeing for the star performance by Maggie Cheung but ultimately an experiment that didn't quite come off - but you must stay with it till then end.

As mentioned above, this movie is about a movie being made and at times it's an example of how NOT to make a film. In particular, the director, played by Jean-Pierre Léaud, is teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown and his decisions seem a bit strange to say the least. In particular, he paid to have an Asian actress, Maggie Cheung, fly all the way to Paris to star in his remake of the silent film IRMA VEP. The problem is, Ms. Cheung speaks excellent English (having lived much of her life there) and excellent Chinese--but NO FRENCH!! And the film is generally shown from her point of view--often feeling baffled and at a loss to cope with a new country, a new language and a new way of making films. This is a very interesting thing to behold (her viewpoint plus the film-making process) and somehow the movie really held my interest.Interestingly enough, this film is highly reminiscent of the Truffaut film, DAY FOR NIGHT, which also starred Jean-Pierre Léaud--though this time he played an actor not a director. Although I have loved him in many of his films (in particular, his "Antoine Doinelle" films for Truffaut), he was a bad choice for this film because his command of English isn't extraordinary. In fact, his accent was very thick and he really needed to be captioned--I really struggled to keep up whenever he was speaking. Unfortunately, NEW YORKER VIDEO, does NOT give you any captioning choices! In addition, the DVD has no extras--and this is a shame.Finally, the ending may satisfy some but I can guarantee many will feel a little flat at the film's conclusion. I liked what you are shown but felt there should have been just a little more to tie it together a little better.By the way, don't tell my wife I wrote this, but Maggie Cheung was really, really hot in this film.

This movie is definitely a must see for every film-lover. Maggie gives her best performance ever in a movie that feels so close to reality you often get the impression you're watching a documentary. Enormously inspired by French cinema style, technique (camera) and references, it manages to observe from a distance French cinema while being a typical French movie. Without any doubt one of the best French movie ever made. 10/10.