Everyone who’s in love with cinema seems to and must have a fling with Xavier Dolan right now.
As being director, writer, actor, producer, editor, production and costume designer the Canadian seems to be the current shooting star and – also regarding he’s only 21 – the new wunderkind of independent cinema. (Think of Nicolas Jaar as the “young Mozart” of electronic music and you know what I mean.)
Always on the edge to hipster cheesiness but still (and because of that) seductively elegantly Dolan remixes avantgarde (hipster!) cinema history in he’s second (!) feature film Les Amours Imaginaires.
The story is his own take on the classic ménage á trois which makes pop up films of Truffaut, Godard and Bertolucci in the cinema lover’s head. Of course today you can’t pull off this motif properly without playing with this idols of film history. Xavier Dolan does this effortlessly without being didactic or pathetic. On top of that he drops some Wong Kar-Wai, Gregg Araki, Pedro Almodovar and Tarantino “cherries” on his bittersweet eye candy cake.
Not only because of the soundtrack featuring The Knife and Fever Ray this film sometimes seems like a montage of some cool contemporary music videos. The story is interspersed by documentary-style scenes with talking heads waxing cynical about lost loves and with Bach-scored and pantone-lit sex sequences. When talking of Wong Kar-Wai you should think of the vintage costume, the play of colour and the slow mo of In the mood for love.
The flic is not too deep and oh so pretty – or should I rather say beautiful because it’s not just plain superficial aestheticism? It draws it’s appeal from its simple, universal story and small and often funny moments and gestures as the casting and the acting is totally great. (Naturally only Nicolas’ character is pale white like the cinema screen, a perfect space for mere projection.) Thank God Dolan takes his self not too serious. His film is just right and amusing but still far from being mediocre. Good cinema mustn’t be highly intellectual.
Nothing is more extraordinary than seeing a great film when you’re not expecting it. I haven’t read anything about this film before going to the theatre and as you see it stole my heart like a streak. I hope another one will save me soon, I wouldn’t mind if it’s the next Dolan which is already in post-production but I also wouldn’t mind if it’s another one sooner…
I just have to drop this quote from a great german review here:
Die zentrale Szene des Films kommt ohne Worte aus, spielt in einer Diskothek und zeigt die genialische Unbekümmertheit des Regisseurs: Im Stakkatorhythmus des Flackerlichts entfacht er ein ekstatisches Kinospiel aus Licht und Dunkel und orchestriert die Schönheit seines Protagonisten mit eingeschnittenen Kunstwerken von Cocteau und Michelangelo. Die erotischen Projektionen der Figuren werden eins mit der Projektionsmaschine Kino, was überhaupt nichts Neues ist, aber immer wieder neu erfunden werden muss.
Have also a flirt: Watch the trailer of Les Amours Imaginaires and the trailer of Dolan’s debut after the jump and a video interview with Xavier Dolan by Arte.
J.
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