Julian Hanich here: In the MA class on “Art Criticism“ that I co-teach with Melanie Schiller our students had to practice their reviewing skills by writing a short piece on Olivier Assayas’ beautiful new film “Clouds of Sils Maria“. While the level of writing was pretty good in general, two of the reviews stood out in particular. I therefore want to showcase them here. The first one comes from Deivi Tuppits, an exchange student from Estonia; the second one was written by Maarten Jacobi, a Dutch KCM student with a focus on film. Though none of them is a native speaker, they were able to bring across their opinion of the film in a remarkably skillful way even in English. See for yourself: THE INTANGIBLE VAULT OF AN ACTRESS’ MIND A Critical Look at Oliver Assayas “Clouds of Sils Maria” By Deivi Tuppits There is a belief in Taoism that in order to follow the path and find spiritual equilibrium in ones life, one must accept the evolvement of time, and oneself within it. It is about dropping all expectations of the future. Without ever referring directly to Taoism or a religion of any kind, the notion of time, and coping with its passing when growing up and growing old takes on a substantial role in the delicate and empathetic “Clouds of Sils Maria”. Holding both the roles of the screenwriter and of the director, Oliver Assayas sets his subtle aesthetic focus on utterly effeminate protagonists. He carefully explores the often impalpable refinements of a woman’s mind, as she struggles with aging and becomes defeated by insecurities. Maria Enders, played by charming Juliette Binoche, had it all, when she was twenty and got famous with a role of fatalistic and captivating young Sigrid in a play called Maloja Snake – striking beauty, youth, and aplomb. Now, in her forties, at the peak of her international career and in the midst of the emotional melange of divorce, she is on her way to receive a reward on behalf of Wilhelm Melchior, the author of both the play and a film version of it, whom she owes almost every sparkle of fame in her life. An abrupt message about his death discomposes Maria. Still attending the ceremony, she gets an offering from a well-known theatre director to re-enact in revival of Maloja Snake, this time in a competing role of older Helena, who falls in a feverish sensation of mixed acceptance and envy for Sigrid, which eventually leads her to suicide. The acceptance of the role is followed by travelling to the house of Melchior in the Swiss Alpine town of Sils Maria along with her young and faithful assistant Valentine (Kristen Stewart). There, between the austere descents of the mountains and melancholic reminiscences emerging from Maria’s innermost grasps during the rehearsal for her new role, unfolds a captivating story of loss and expectations. It is not only the subtle and masterful play of the main characters, nor the abundant but artfully orchestrated dialogue, in which Assayas as a screenwriter is remarkably skilful, that makes the film an intelligent and rarefied insight. Assayas uses an exquisite as well as sensitive brush to portray the complexity of people and the evolving relationships between them. It is only an adscititious credit that the parts played by three different puissant women are a class of its own. An elegant, enamouring vulnerability of Juliette Binoche, a witty, hoyden indie-attitude of Kristen Stewart, and the controversial enchanté of yet to ascending vogue of Chloë Grace Moretz, who plays Jo-Ann Ellis, rebellious and popular teen to enact Maria’s old role as Sigrid – undoubtedly exposed in their best. As they leave all male characters politely in the long and lonely shadow, there forms a multi-layered narrative full of – perhaps even too predictable – symbols and allusions, tactfully combining (meta)fiction and biographical foibles (Assayes wrote the script on proposal of Binoche). We soon come to the understanding that the trip to the alpine Sils Maria is implicitly a voyage to discover her inner intangible mindscapes that are as opaque as the mysterious clouds forming between the mountains. And in the end, it is the Taoist conclusion, the acceptance of oneself being “outside of age”, recognizing the self as a passage from one phase to another on the arc of life that leads to equilibrium. BECOMING HELENA A Study in Aging: Olivier Assayas’ Psychological Drama “Clouds of Sils Maria” with Juliette Binoche By Maarten Jacobi “A piece in which the same melody is begun in different parts successively, so that the imitations overlap.” – The definition of a musical canon according to the Oxford Dictionary. It is not by coincidence that French director and screenwriter Olivier Assayas uses “Canon in D” by Pachelbel as exit music to his latest film “Clouds of Sils Maria”. The music mimics the many different overlapping ways in which the same theme is presented during the film: the transition from youth to old age, and the jealousy and vulnerability that come with it. Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is an accomplished actress who received her fame at an early age by playing the role of Sigrid in a theatre play, in which she tricks an older woman to fall in love with her, uses her and finally dumps her. The older woman, Helena, who is so furiously in love with Sigrid, commits suicide out of pure desperation and heartache caused by Sigrid’s cruelty. Now, twenty years later, Maria is asked to appear in the play again, but this time playing the role of Helena. As she is preparing for her role in the Swiss mountain village of Sils Maria with her much younger assistant Valentine (Kristen Stewart), we slowly start to see the same coming-of-age theme from the play being explored between Valentine and Maria as well. Many of the scenes between them start to confuse the line between practicing read-throughs of the play and actual conversations between Maria and Valentine. Perhaps Assayas draws this parallel a little too clear for us, by also showing Maria looking lustfully at Valentine in many close-ups throughout the film. Luckily, other relationships that deal with this theme are a bit less obvious. The actress who plays Sigrid in the new play, Jo-Anne Ellis (Chloë Grace Moretz), does an excellent job of being the cruel and merciless young girl. At first she pretends to adore Maria, only to harshly put her down later on. Or the complicated love-hate relationship between Maria and Henryk (Hanns Zischler), her older ex-lover with whom she still feels more like Sigrid than Helena. But seasons pass, and the more Maria studies the role of Helena, the more she has to admit she identifies with her. It also becomes clear that her younger assistant has a fresh new perspective on the play that often conflicts with Maria’s. This becomes more and more personal, complicating their relationship even further and emphasizing the generation gap once more. The realization of becoming Helena is a painful one, and Assayas does a good job at making it feel almost as painful for the viewer by using confronting dialogues that are especially strong and well played during the final scenes of the film. All in all, “Clouds of Sils Maria” presents a well thought-out and executed psychological study that involves many round characters, some mysteries and a somewhat grim message that is repeated throughout: by the passing of time, becoming Helena is inevitable.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 05:11:23 +0000
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