French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin’s Ismael's Ghosts is ostensibly the story of a filmmaker named Ismael Vuillard (Mathieu Amalric), whose personal and artistic lives are both thrown off track by the sudden reappearance of his former wife (Marion Cotillard)—who disappeared without a word for 20 years. The narrative jumps abruptly back and forth in time and between biography, fiction, and dreams, blurring the line between the lives of its characters and the creative re-imagining of them through Ismael’s new film about his estranged brother (Louis Garrel). Wife and brother are Ismael's ghosts and nightmares, afflicting him in manic visions that appear to stem from sleeplessness, drinking, and even filmmaking itself. Ismael’s Ghosts is a fragmented and sometimes confusing film, but it is also an impassioned drama about powerful emotions—a raw, funny, angry, and loving tale with rich, complex characters and relationships, as well as an interesting perspective on storytelling as both artistic endeavor and personal psychological work. Likely to appeal to fans of challenging and playful foreign films, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Ismael’s Ghosts
Magnolia, 134 min., in French w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $26.99, July 3 Volume 33, Issue 5
Ismael’s Ghosts
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