Irma Vep. 1996. Written and directed by Olivier Assayas

Film

Irma Vep. 1996. France. Directed by Olivier Assayas. Courtesy Janus Films

Irma Vep. 1996. France. Written and directed by Olivier Assayas. With Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Nathalie Richard, Lou Castel. 35mm. In French, English; English subtitles. 97 min.

New Wave ham director Leaud enlists Hong Kong action-movie star Cheung to salvage his doomed remake of Louis Feuillade’s silent-era Les Vampires. Squeezing into a black latex bondage suit, Cheung becomes vampish jewel thief Irma Vep and immediately holds the film crew in thrall. With the antic mayhem of a surrealist comedy and the knowing charms of René Clair and Francois Truffaut, Olivier Assayas celebrates a lost era of moviemaking while also flouting its genre conventions.

This film accompanies A View From the Vaults 2023: Films in 16 and 35mm.

Fri, Jul 28, 4:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Sat, Jul 22, 1:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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