Famous actress Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) faces aging and mortality in Olivier Assayas's strangely engrossing film, which like the meteorological phenomenon of the title—clouds that stream between two mountain ridges in a slithering motion—takes a serpentine narrative route, toying with chronology and reality while telling its story. Maria, who is dealing with the sudden death of the writer whose play made her a star at age 18, is asked by a prestigious director to appear in a revival of the same work. But now she would be cast in the role of the older woman who is destroyed by Maria's original character, now played by young movie star Jo-Ann (Chloë Grace Moretz), an actress with a Lindsay Lohan-like reputation (who initially turns out to be articulate and gracious, but later shows a conniving streak). Maria practices her lines with the third major character—her assistant, Val (Kristen Stewart)—sometimes confusing the words of the play with offhanded conversation. Serving up a probing and illuminating rumination on the themes of art vs. life, present vs. past, and youth vs. maturity, this admirable, reflective character study is highly recommended. (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—June 14, 2016—Criterion, 124 min., in English, French & German w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 2014's Clouds of Sils Maria features a fine transfer and a 5.1 surround soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include an interview with director Olivier Assayas (38 min.), a “Parallel Lives” segment featuring costars Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart talking about their roles (38 min.), Arnold Fanck's 1924 silent documentary Cloud Phenomena of Maloja (11 min.), a trailer, and an essay by critic Molly Haskell. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a thought-provoking film.]
Clouds of Sils Maria
Paramount, 123 min., R, DVD: $29.99, July 14 Volume 30, Issue 5
Clouds of Sils Maria
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