Light Show #1: Holy Motors

Leos Carax: dreamer, cinephile, over-reaching fabulist and chain-smoking torchbearer for the artistic ideals of the Nouvelle Vague and the cinéma du look. With Holy Motors he has made a film that is worthy of his esteemed reputation, and it is a rare privilege to be able to screen it on 35mm.

Though tempting to try and describe exactly what this film is, it's far too rich, mysterious and playful to index in such a cosy fashion. It is a loose-leaf odyssey that flies in the face of easy interpretation, following Denis Lavant as he assumes a number of surreal guises as Monsieur Oscar, a man who travels through the Paris night in a white stretch limo, looking for a way to fit in.

Holy Motors, dir. Leos Carax, France/Germany 2012, 35mm, 115 mins

Screening as part of Light Show #1 – a celebration of celluloid magic curated by MUBI, ICA and Little White Lies