Holy Motors - Leos Carax 2012

Back in 2012, I kept stumbling across reviews for this festival hit, and they were all glowing. I actually respect some of those established critics I follow, so I tend to trust their takes.
Reading through them, it was pretty obvious we were talking about an art film with a super weird concept. I’ve been a cinephile for 20 years now, and I usually live for unconventional, indie, non-US, out-of-the-box movies. So, I figured I was ready for something like this when I finally sat down to watch it at home yesterday.

After the first hour, I just had to admit—this thing is DAMN BORING! 🙂 And honestly, that was it. Nothing else. By the second hour, I realized I was already seriously regretting the time I spent watching this. 😠

I didn't even bother looking for a deeper meaning, because the movie is so tedious that you just stop caring about the point, the message, or that classic question of "what was the director trying to say?"

I read bits about how the film makes references and nods to other movies... I think I even spotted a few myself, but it didn't really make things more interesting since the movie sinks so deep into boredom that even a beautiful Eva Mendes couldn't save it.

What I want to say is that a movie doesn't necessarily have to be profound, meaningful, impactful, or visually stunning, but it does need to seduce the viewer, intrigue them, or pull them into its world... and you can only do that if it's actually engaging. This film isn't. It's just boring, and there is nothing worse than a boring movie... it feels like pseudo-artistic nonsense.

I did try to find a couple of things I liked, though:

- the La Lachaise vibes in Paris; reminded me of a walk through that cemetery back in May... probably the only cemetery in the world where you actually feel good being there.

- Eva Mendes—too little screen time, unfortunately.

One more thing... the movie has a 7.2 on IMDb, which means people are actually watching it and enjoying it. If anyone on this forum is part of that crowd, please enlighten me. I'm even willing to settle this in an octagon ring. 😁

Honestly, I found it pretty dull and just didn't hit the mark for me. I actually mentioned this in my own review on this PDF—I really don't love it when a movie only becomes interesting once I start reading about it after the credits roll.

I'm not holding out much hope that someone will "enlighten" you either—because, like I said, even certain interpretations of what the poet was trying to say "enlightened" me, but that doesn't suddenly make the movie great.

Here were my bright spots, though:

- Those Parisian streets and squares
- That scene with Mr. Merdeom—so absurd, bizarre, and beautiful.
- That part where he's running with a machine gun in front of a green screen
- Discovering this song
- One of the most beautiful scenes I've seen lately. Seriously, I keep rewatching it.
- The ending—the "arrival" home, paired with Revivre and that melancholy vibe... well, we all know what's waiting for him at home. 😁

Maybe it's just me—I've never been a huge fan of movies that constantly slap you with symbolism or feel like every single frame is a metaphor... But man, I really expected it to be at least super engaging. It wasn't; I actually had to watch it in three separate sittings.

I did find this, which is the director's explanation of the film:
'I suppose I was trying to describe the experience of being alive in the internet world. The different lives we are able to live. The fatigue of being oneself. We all get a little tired of being ourselves sometimes. The answer is to reinvent yourself, but how do you do that and what is the cost?'

On one hand, you have an identity crisis in the tech age and replacing old "machines" with new ones; on the other, it’s a commentary on the modern film industry, CGI, and maybe even a tribute to that "invisible" crew that keeps every production running...
You could dig deep and find all sorts of meanings, but again, the movie itself just didn't pull me in enough to want to dissect every single scene.

Poster:



This movie feels a bit bizarre to me. 😁 It has a few clever moments that could have been leaned into more—like those cemetery commercials, for instance. 😁 All in all, not my cup of tea. 😉

Oh yeah, even those ads in cemeteries 👍

And that whole scene where he's just chatting away in the car with his daughter (honestly, I can't tell if she's actually his kid or just another one of those weird 'assignments' they give him).

That poster? Definitely worth framing and hanging right in the middle of the living room.

I’m not disputing the film's strangeness, but the massive backlash it triggered makes sense—mostly because we aren't living in the era of Buñuel and Fellini anymore, back when avant-garde satires like "the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie" were still walking away with Oscars.

Personally, I thought the movie was alright. It didn't blow me away, but I’d love to find a well-reasoned critique filled with some descriptive flair. Despite all the praise it's getting, I haven't come across any truly compelling arguments IN its favor yet.

Ashley Grant66 said:Oh yeah, even those ads in cemeteries 👍

And that whole scene where he's just chatting away in the car with his daughter (honestly, I can't tell if she's actually his kid or just another one of those weird 'assignments' they give him).

That poster? Definitely worth framing and hanging right in the middle of the living room.

Not to mention the limos having their own little chats. 😁

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Ashley Grant66 said:Honestly, I found it pretty dull and just didn't hit the mark for me. I actually mentioned this in my own review on this PDF—I really don't love it when a movie only becomes interesting once I start reading about it after the credits roll.

I'm not holding out much hope that someone will "enlighten" you either—because, like I said, even certain interpretations of what the poet was trying to say "enlightened" me, but that doesn't suddenly make the movie great.

Here were my bright spots, though:

- Those Parisian streets and squares
- That scene with Mr. Merdeom—so absurd, bizarre, and beautiful.
- That part where he's running with a machine gun in front of a green screen
- Discovering this song
- One of the most beautiful scenes I've seen lately. Seriously, I keep rewatching it.
- The ending—the "arrival" home, paired with Revivre and that melancholy vibe... well, we all know what's waiting for him at home. 😁

Maybe it's just me—I've never been a huge fan of movies that constantly slap you with symbolism or feel like every single frame is a metaphor... But man, I really expected it to be at least super engaging. It wasn't; I actually had to watch it in three separate sittings.

I did find this, which is the director's explanation of the film:
'I suppose I was trying to describe the experience of being alive in the internet world. The different lives we are able to live. The fatigue of being oneself. We all get a little tired of being ourselves sometimes. The answer is to reinvent yourself, but how do you do that and what is the cost?'

On one hand, you have an identity crisis in the tech age and replacing old "machines" with new ones; on the other, it’s a commentary on the modern film industry, CGI, and maybe even a tribute to that "invisible" crew that keeps every production running...
You could dig deep and find all sorts of meanings, but again, the movie itself just didn't pull me in enough to want to dissect every single scene.

Well, honestly, that is a rather profound explanation, isn't it? 🙂

Upon finishing the film, I found myself wondering if this wasn't essentially a modern reinterpretation of that All The world's spike from Shakespeare... though, perhaps without delving too deeply into a granular analysis of the symbolism behind every single role. I enjoyed the film, and it was quite entertaining enough that I have no desire to spoil it by overanalyzing it. 🙂 😁

I also happened to be nursing a drink during the viewing, so perhaps that contributed somewhat to my overall perception of the piece. 🧐

I wouldn't go as far as calling it pretentious. It’s definitely weird, totally unexpected, and super interesting in how much effort went into the craft... but like a few people here already pointed out, maybe it leans a little too hard into the metaphors...

It isn't bad at all, though there are moments where it gets a bit tough to sit through xD otherwise, it's such a cool foundation for digging into those themes, like virtual "realities" and all that stuff. I feel like there are plenty of spots where the most primitive human instincts get pushed to the absolute limit in a digital space, and I think they nailed that depiction...

But man, if I wanted the full picture, I felt like I needed just a little bit more...

I found the film to be decent. It’s visually polished and weird enough to actually grab your attention. Even those sequences where Daniel Day-Lewis transforms into a car are twisted and funny—almost Monty Python-esque—so if you're watching with an eye for craft, you're constantly bracing for the next stunt. The opening is just as striking, with the director walking straight from his bedroom into the theater. Ultimately, it’s all just cinema; there's no need to overthink it or hunt for some profound, hidden subtext. You just have to let the movie happen. It feels grounded enough in that sense—we could all wake up tomorrow in a completely different role, one that bears zero resemblance to the life we've been leading until now. At the end of the day, we're all just playing parts. And an actor remains an actor regardless of the script. Which one is "real" doesn't much matter, because once the curtain falls on any of them, you're left with the same emptiness.
"Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world," said James Dean.

Anyway, it's a cool film.
It reminded me of the 9 lives of Tom Cats, if you've seen it.
For fans of Lynch, The Quay Brothers, Buñuel, Guy Maddin, Yorgos Lanthimos, Quentin Dupieux, or Lucidi Hadzihalilović... 🙂