Irma Vep

I started watching it because of Alicia Vikandar but really liked the approach of this show. Making a TV show inside a TV show. It's funny and exciting. The director Renè's storyline is so good and just watching Alicia is just pure pleasure.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but if you like movies and wonder how they make them then I think it's for you.

If you have not seen the original Assayas movie from 1996, try watching it first. You will understand more about the idea behind this series. In short, it's just more of the same 1996 movie, but with enough details shuffled around to make it interesting to watch even if you have seen it before.

This is a remake of a movie that was telling about shooting remake of an old movie from the beginning of the 20th century, that was actually a 7h long series!

It's not for everyone, but you don't need to be neither patient nor intellectual to appreciate it. If you love cinema and love French cinema, you will appreciate this modern take on how chaotic tournage is.

Assayas remakes his 1996 cult classic into a long form cheeky essay on the machinations of the film world. Here he is able to delve deeper into the characters, most notably the ticking time bomb mind of the box-office American disillusioned star, Mira (Alicia Vikander having fun with her Tomb Raider popularity status). Mira travels to France to take on the role of Irma Vep in the modern remake of Les vampires. What seems to be an easy role, and a good excuse to be in France, ends up being more than what Mira has bargained for. There is enough mystic on the character only after episode 1, giving the viewer a reason to come back for further Mira encounters of the strange kind.

There is also the director, René Vidal, (Vincent Macaigne having a neurotic time of his life). The director had only a minor part in the film version, but in this series it seems that there will be plenty of time to slowly roast the hapless director with a breakdown of artistic proportions that only Assayas can pull off (and enjoy at the same time).

Yes, there are cliche characters, but as someone who works in the film industry, they do exist. With Assayas at the helm, it is going to be one super-duper ride into the disintegrating minds of the filmmakers as reality clashes with the surreal film world. So let's all sit back, and watch the madness unfold...

WARNING: This review is written by a contributor that HASN'T viewed the whole series.

Films about making films tend to have the odds stacked against them. The concept, aside from being grossly over represented, is pathed with potholes - the biggest one being that all involved find the subject way more interesting than the audience.

Another obvious risk is that it will be perceived as an egotistic indulgence and that the end product ends up more of a show off than a show. There will also be a perceived amount of laziness, after reviewing thousands of possible topics - the decision was; to make a show about "themselves". In short; the execution must be spot on for there to be any praise worthy merit.

So... plenty of risk taken here - how has the end product turned out? After the first episode - rather much as feared. Despite some good acting; pretty boring and rather self-indulgent. That's not saying it's worse than a lot of other stuff out there. It is, however, a bumpy ride over the potholes - of which few have been avoided.

Irma Vep has started out painfully predictable - resulting in a recommendation that may seem obvious; if you have enjoyed other films/shows along the theme of making a ditto - chances are you will enjoy this. If not - chances are that you will feel the urge to utter something along the lines of "pretentious rubbish".

After two episodes the issues of main concern, apart from the above mentioned, has to do with rhythm and pacing - the overall impression is beginning to feel choppy and bouts of boredom are showing up. It is stil hard to look past the aspect of self-indulgence. However... intricate threads of complexity are being woven in and they may come into play at a later stage (if not it would be further added indulgence). The best advice, possibly, is avoid at this stage; to wait until the whole series has aired, and then read the reviews.

Irma Vep could go in two very different directions from here: The most likely being that it is a cul-de-sac of self indulgence. But t could also "come together" in a way that makes the, relatively painful, first episodes pay off at a later stage.

It's not a great idea to write a review after a couple of episodes and this is a first impression - if any greatness develops as the series progresses; this review will be altered or taken down.

FINAL EDIT (After E3) After three episodes the self-indulgence is on the rise - rather than the decline - and this reviewer will be checking out. The few potential interesting threads that were out there have come to nothing and the "please give me a break" moments are on the rise.

Thanks for your attention.

As Episode 1 of "Irma Vep" (2022 release from France; 8 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, the Alicia Vikander character (we later learn it is an American actress called Mira) arrives in Paris and is whisked away to a photoshoot for her news movie "Doomsday". Mira is actually in Paris to star in an adaptation of the 1916 French silent classic "Les Vampires", and was hired by the French director who envisions her playing "Irma, pure evil in a sexy kinda way"... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: in 1996 French writer-director Olivier Assayas had a great idea to make a movie-within-a-movie about the movie adaptation of a 1916 French silent movie, and along the way casting Hong Kong movie super star Maggie Cheung who plays herself in the film. Now more than a quarter century later, Assayas decided to reimagine his 1996 movie into an 8 part mini-series, and my immediate reaction was: why? But I must admit I was rather curious about it, and now having seen the initial two episodes of this, I must say that the mini-series is a very different experience compared to the movie. It's not that the acting is inadequate. Alicia Vikander and Vincent Mcaigne (as the director) are tops. And the mini-series is very stylish and even sleek (plus it plays the 1979 classic tune "Moscow Discow" by Belgian electronics band Telex in the photoshoot scene, extra bonus point for that!). But it also lacks the originality, adrenaline and urgency of the 1996 movie. Yes, the 1996 movie was a bit rough around the edges, but frankly that is part of its charm. So based on the initial two episodes, the choice so far between the 1996 movie and the 2022 mini-series is an easy one: the 1996 movie wins.

"Irma Vep" (the mini-series) premiered on HBO Max a week ago, and new episodes are available on Sundays. If you are watching the mini-series without having seen the 1996 movie, I encourage you to conclude the mini-series and then check out the 1996 movie, and draw your own conclusion.