1. jearbucklejr

   10

   A celebration of the many bells, whistles, and motivations that go unseen in the making of film, each pseudo vignette of Holy Motors shows the many ways that films make us feel, think, and react. The sparse clips of early film images (a man doing body exercises) suggest that Leos Carax is striving for more than a simple 'this symbolizes this' mentality, and instead chooses to lament the days when a film was shot on film. The opening scene shows Carax as the viewer in a cinema filled with emotionless audience members. The people approach the cinema as a brain dead exercise in banality, and therefore are represented as brain dead corpses. It is only when Carax enters the theater that the gorgeous elements of Holy Motors are shown to us, which is to say that there are higher levels of intelligent cinema waiting to be mined and brought forth for those who are willing to view them. Let the movie zombies go watch...well, movies about zombies. Save the creative and intelligent work for those who appreciate them.… Collapse

   • Helpful? 1 of 2 users said Yes.
2. jeraldjunkmail

   8

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Warning spoiler ahead?
   
   I had no idea what this movie was, or was about. Watched it based on the metacritic reviews. This is an art film, on the topic of cinema, acting, and the state of the industry. The acting in this film is very good, but after watching it, I have no idea what the film is actually attempting to convey exactly. My advice? Just enjoy it, don't try to really make sense of it til the credits roll. My take on it is that the filmmaker believes that the movie industry is running out of creativity, and this his his attempt to simply create something on film. So just throw logic out the window and do your best to appreciate it as cinema in its individual parts. It is up to you to define it.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 2 users said Yes.
3. oliver1h

   7

   I rated Holy Motors 75 out of 100. The reason i did not give it more points is that after the "infamous" monster sequence, the movie slows down and never reaches the heights it reach until that point. Anyways this is a movie you need to see and make your own explanation about the meanings behind it. I would like to mention Denis Lavant's absolutely outstanding performance, which is one if the best of this year. Holy Motors is a very different movie, a cinematic journey not afraid to explore new territories. Recommended!… Expand

   • Helpful? 4 of 5 users said Yes.
4. seancriswell

   1

   Holy Motors is a day in the life of a performer. We see Oscar (Lavant) picked up by his driver/assistant, he is told that he has a certain number of appointments that he must attend throughout his day. Soon after we learn that at each appointment he is to play a new character. Who he is performing for and why he is performing is for the viewer to decide for themselves. There in lies my problem with Holy Motors. There is no narrative to speak of, and there is no character development. Unless of course you consider the fact that Oscar becomes exhausted from all of his appointments character development.
   
   There is one positive in Holy Motors, and that is Denis Lavant. He transitions flawlessly from one character to the next, and portrays each character convincingly. I would say that Lavant is giving my second favorite performance of 2012, next to Day-Lewis in Lincoln. However once again my issue becomes that I am given no reason to care about any of the characters he is portraying. It's as if I am watching a very good audition. If I was casting a movie I would hire Lavant, if I'm looking to enjoy a film for two hours, no thanks.
   
   Holy Motors is deliberately bizarre and surreal so there is an audience that it is appealing too. I am just not that audience which I'm sure is no skin off Carax's back. For me Holy Motors is simply artistic masturbation.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.

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