Maria Enders, a world renowned actress at the peak of her international career, is approaced by a young, acclaimed director interested in her performing in a revival of the stage play she made famous nearly twenty years ago. Too old to play the young, sexier role of Sigrid, Maria is asked to take up the role of the older Helena, a woman who is slowly weakened by the alluring Sigrid, eventually being driven to suicide. Reluctant at first, Maria eventually accepts the role and heads to Sils Maria, a remote region of the Alps, where along with her assistant, she can rehearse in peace. Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria is a multi-layed psychological drama of a woman coming to terns with her own fragility. Using the youth-centric nature of modern culture, specifically as it pertains to the entertainment industry, Assayas displays in Maria a woman whose lost the allure she once demanded as a younger actress, with the character in the play, Helena, being a direct mirror into Maria's current situation. Maria is in a state of weakness due to her increasing insecurities, and the film takes on a very Persona-esque psychology study during rehearsals between Maria and her assistant. Assayas intentionally blurs the lines between the play and real life, with Maria's assistant representing this inner-struggle and reflection facing Maria, as she attempts to find a new source of strength and confidence. In that sense, Clouds of Sils Maria offers one of the most unique films about the artistic process of acting, touching on the relationships shared between the performer and character they are attempting to portray. What I found most fasicnating about Clouds of Sils Maria is what is has to say about perspective, showing how it is constantly evolving in each and every one of us, with Maria's performance as the older character, Helena, eventually bringing her a new perspective on life, not viewing Helena, and really herself, as weak and disposable any longer. Conjuring up aspects reminiscient of All About Eve and Persona, Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria is well-crfated, complex psychologocial character with lots to digest.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|