Olivier Assayas

NYFF 2014: Kyle’s 5 Favorite Films and Other Ephemera

Underneath the bass drops and the electronic harmony of the garage music scene of 1990s Paris is melancholy and loneliness. The parties are bursting with verve and energy, but when the music stops, so does that joy. Hansen-Løve’s examination of a young DJ over the course of twenty years is warm and tender, an incredible look at the pros and cons of following your passion, allowing art to be your escape, and the joy of music.

TIFF 2014: ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’ a muddled misfire from Olivier Assayas

“Everything is hitting me at once,” announces Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche), just minutes into director Olivier Assayas’ English-language Clouds of Sils Maria. It’s a subtle line that quickly introduces us to the frazzled female headspace that Assayas and Binoche have jointly crafted in this Bergman-esque melodrama.

Clouds of Sils Maria - Kristen Stewart

Cannes 2014: Assayas’ ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’ paints performance as Bergmanian identity

Olivier Assayas, especially with his previous Irma Vep, has had a keen awareness for this entity and how the actions on-set can serve as a sort of chamber drama in itself. With Clouds of Sils Maria, his vision behind this project becomes realized in the channel of Bergman by way of TMZ, a smartly composed dive into the role of celebrity culture and how it influences the films they inhabit.

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