Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
Irma Vep
Olivier Assayas' sexy and stylish ode to the madness of filmmaking, with Maggie Cheung as the Hong Kong movie star playing a Catwoman-style anti-heroine.
Director: Olivier Assayas
Overview
Esteemed director Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper, The Clouds of Sils Maria) turns his lens inwards with this sexy and stylish ode to the madness of filmmaking. French filmmaker René Vidal (Day for Night’s Jean-Pierre Léaud) is commissioned by a TV company to direct a remake of Louis Feuillade’s classic silent-era serial, Les Vampires. Maggie Cheung (playing a version of herself) is cast in the central role and heads to Paris for filming – where she finds herself amid the chaos of artistic differences, petty rivalries and the immense egos which make up a film set.
Irma Vep is Assayas at his lightest and most playful - simultaneously a gently satirical dig at the state of French cinema and a love letter to the female star who would become his wife.
Related
Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Girl Girl
Drama 2022 87 mins Director: Adura Onashile
Déborah Lukumuena and Le’Shantey Bonsu give stunning performances as a deeply connected mother and daughter in Adura Onashile’s tender drama.
Orphée Orphée
Drama 1950 96 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Magical retelling of the Orpheus myth by poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau.
Air Doll Air Doll
Drama 2009 116 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
A life-size blow-up doll comes to life and falls in love with a video store clerk in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s haunting, melancholy meditation on urban alienation.
Floating Skyscrapers Floating Skyscrapers
Drama 2013 89 mins Director: Tomasz Wasilewski
Hailed as ‘Poland’s first LGBT film’, Tomasz Wasilewski’s striking drama follows a champion swimmer whose gay relationship causes ripples.
Sweet Sue Sweet Sue
Comedy 2022 100 mins Director: Leo Leigh
A shameless woman finds her new lover’s son wants to divide them in this cringe comic drama starring Maggie O’Neill.
Deep End Deep End
Drama 1970 92 mins Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
Jerzy Skolimowski’s darkly comic and utterly compelling story of teenage infatuation in a run-down swimming pool.
Face Face
Crime 1997 101 mins Director: Antonia Bird
Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone are members of a criminal gang that tears itself apart after a heist goes wrong, in Antonia Bird’s stylish thriller.
Bande à part Bande à part
Crime 1964 95 mins Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Godard's playful tribute to the Hollywood pulp crime movies of the 1940s, executed with typically Gallic cool.
The Ground Beneath My Feet The Ground Beneath My Feet
Drama 2019 108 mins Director: Marie Kreutzer
Ghosts from the past threaten to engulf Lola’s tightly controlled present in this taut Austrian thriller from the director of Corsage.
Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures
Drama 2023 113 mins Director: Marco Martins
As Brexit looms, hundreds of migrant workers arrive in the coastal town of Great Yarmouth looking for work, in Marco Martins’ damning depiction of immigrant life in a fracturing Britain.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Thriller 2008 117 mins Director: Sidney Lumet
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke star as criminal brothers whose botched heist leads to escalating turmoil, in Sidney Lumet's twisty thriller.
The Death of Louis XIV The Death of Louis XIV
Historical drama 2016 115 mins Director: Albert Serra
The last days of the Sun King, evoked with sombre beauty by Albert Serra. The legendary Jean-Pierre Léaud brings ineffable presence to the title role.
The 400 Blows The 400 Blows
Drama 1959 100 mins Director: François Truffaut
François Truffaut’s French New Wave landmark is one of the greatest movies about adolescence.
Bed and Board Bed and Board
Drama 1970 97 mins Director: François Truffaut
In this typically ambivalent comedy from Truffaut, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) becomes a father... But is he mature enough for parenthood?
Stolen Kisses Stolen Kisses
Comedy 1968 91 mins Director: François Truffaut
Naively idealistic and largely inept both in his dealings with women and in any job, Antoine clumsily courts Christine while working for a private detective agency.
Anne and Muriel [aka Two English Girls] Anne and Muriel [aka Two English Girls]
Drama 1971 130 mins Director: François Truffaut
Truffaut adopts a detached, delicate tone in treating the troubled ménage-à-trois that develops between a young French writer (Léaud) and two English sisters in the early 1900s.
Love on the Run Love on the Run
Drama 1978 94 mins Director: François Truffaut
Separated from Christine and uncertain about his latest relationship, Antoine (Jean-Pierre Léaud) has finally written a novel inspired by his own experiences in this final chapter of François Truffaut’s series.
Non-Fiction Non-Fiction
Comedy 2017 107 mins Director: Olivier Assayas
Juliette Binoche and Guillaume Canet lead the cast in Olivier Assayas’ wryly comic look at the quandaries of the publishing world.
Demonlover Demonlover
Drama 2002 121 mins Director: Olivier Assayas
Olivier Assayas' neo-noir cyber-thriller is a chilling exploration of the nexus between sex and violence available at the click of a button.
Personal Shopper Personal Shopper
Drama 2016 106 mins Director: Olivier Assayas
Kristen Stewart reunites with Olivier Assayas to play an A-List celebrity's personal shopper, who keeps receiving strange text messages from an unknown source.
The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini and Luciano Emmer
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.
Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Wild Men Wild Men
Comedy 2021 102 mins Director: Thomas Daneskov
In this razor-sharp black comedy featuring Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing), Martin flees to the mountains in a desperate attempt to cure his midlife crisis.
Girl Girl
Drama 2022 87 mins Director: Adura Onashile
Déborah Lukumuena and Le’Shantey Bonsu give stunning performances as a deeply connected mother and daughter in Adura Onashile’s tender drama.
Orphée Orphée
Drama 1950 96 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Magical retelling of the Orpheus myth by poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau.
La Belle et la Bête La Belle et la Bête
Fantasy 1946 95 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau’s ravishingly restored 1946 film is a cinematic classic. “Five stars. [This] magical exploration of the fairytale is a compelling and bizarre masterpiece” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian