Remakes, franchising and comic book films off the assembly line: it seems Hollywood is running out of ideas. By reinterpreting his film “Irma Vep” as a series, Olivier Assayas is holding up a mirror to an entire industry.
What is the difference between a TV series and a multi-part film? How challenging can a comic book adaptation be? What is (still) interesting about the silent film era? And where does entertainment end and art begin? Questions that the French director Olivier Assayas addresses in the reinterpretation of his film “Irma Vep” from 1996.
Like the film 26 years ago, the series – to be streamed on Sky – tells the story of a bizarre director (played by Vincent Macaigne). He wants to revive the silent film series “The Vampires” by Louis Feuillade from 1915. His leading actress Mira Harberg (Alicia Vikander) is supposed to embody the central part of “Irma Vep”. Dressed in the costume of an eight-part drama-comedy, the new “Irma Vep” is more snappy, beautiful and even weirder than the original.
A detailed review of “Irma Vep” by Ronny Rüsch and Axel Max – now in a new episode of the ntv podcast “Oscars
“Oscars
