French auteur Olivier Assayas has delivered all types of movies over the years, and some are a bit more amorphous and lean on narrative more than others. And while it’s apparently somewhat of an polarizing affair, his latest, “Clouds of Sils Maria” sounds more moody, mysterious and exploratory about the human condition. Our reviewer from Cannes wasn’t enamored with the picture, but gave props to both the movie’s leads, Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart, the latter of which apparently gives as good as she gets.
But some other Playlisters are much more positive. Included in our Best Films Of 2015 We’ve Already Seen feature, we wrote, “[others] found its thematic and immersive metatextual musings — about role playing, time, identity, desire and control — quite compelling to watch.” At the very least everyone seems to agree that Binoche, Stewart and co-star Chloë Grace Moretz are terrific in the film (it also features Johnny Flynn, Lars Eidinger and Brady Corbet). Here’s the official synopsis:
At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant (Kristen Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself.
IFC Films will open the picture in limited release on April 10th. Watch the first official U.S. trailer below.
