“Carax is the essence of cinema” - Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Leos Carax has made 5 and a half films in 32 years and the new documentary MR. X: A Vision of Leos Carax by Tessa Louise-Salomé, seems keen on discovering why a man of such talent, has such a small oeuvre. Not because he’s anything of a modern day Salinger, hiding away from his public, but for more selfish motives, as the director suggests that becoming enthralled by his work can become something of an addiction. Featuring interviews with some of his most famous collaborators, including the wonderful Denis Lavant (who has starred in all but one of his films), Eva Mendes and film critic Richard Brody, the documentary cleverly emulates Carax’s own sense of space and time, as it delivers a dreamlike chronological sequence of his work.
From his debut with Boy Meets Girl in 1984, to the savage pleasures of Pola X and the delirious grandeur of Holy Motors, Louise-Salomé chronicles the making-of each of these masterpieces and singles out Carax’s stylistic touches and his unconventional methods. Kylie Minogue explains how the director is “like a breeze” that comes and goes without explaining much, but getting everything he needs from his cast and crew (Ms. Minogue’s small part in Holy Motors gives path to one of the greatest scenes in all of contemporary cinema) and the film helps point out how despite his fame as an enfant terrible, Carax in fact possesses an innocence that most modern filmmakers lack.
One of the most fascinating ideas explored in MR. X is that of Carax using citation and references from artists he admires, without an ounce of cynicism. He cites them, because he genuinely loves them, wishes to emulate them and most importantly wants the world to share in this joy with him. “The dreams and nightmares [in Carax’s films] are those of the birth of cinema” explains a scholar, and it’s impossible not to agree with him, particularly noticing how much attention Carax devotes to movement and how the camera perceives it. Carax is discovering cinema for the first time every time he makes a film.
In the end what remains the most remarkable about this film is that it remains mystical despite of its being essentially a dissection. Unlike finding out how the magician pulled out the rabbit from the hat, it makes Carax’s work seem even more wondrous.
MR. X: A Vision of Leos Carax is playing at Film Forum through August 21. Click here for tickets.
