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If you ever happen to see the French filmmaker Leos Carax live and in person, perhaps presenting one of his films, or even deigning to be involved in a masterclass, then you really do get the sense that he\u2019d rather not be there. Which is totally fine; public speaking is not for everyone, and Carax certainly seems like a person who would prefer to ram skewers in his eyes rather than crumble that dividing barrier between the public and the private.<\/p>\n
Which makes his new medium-length feature, It\u2019s Not Me<\/em>, all the more surprising and scintillating, as it feels like the first time he\u2019s let his guard drop just a little to tell us a bit about what he\u2019s thinking right now. He in no way seems loquacious or in need to be part of a dialogue. Instead, he wants to get some issues off his chest in a semi-rant, and this witty and creative montage piece certainly fulfils that remit (and then some).<\/p>\n Since his earliest films, it\u2019s been clear that Carax has been in constant thrall to the late, great Jean-Luc Godard, and where films like Mauvais Sang<\/em> and Boy Meets Girl<\/em> tipped a beret to the early, more narratively-inclined JLG, It\u2019s Not Me<\/em> tips his hat to the maestro\u2019s latter, cut-and-paste video work, in particular his epic disquisition on cinema and politics, Histoire(s) du Cin\u00e9ma<\/em>. <\/p>\n The film opens on an image of Carax flopped over on a bed in a room. He flips a switch and the screen transforms into a green, heat censor-like image, with the filmmaker unconsciously writing notes in Sharpie on a sheet of paper on the floor. The sense is that this material is spilling out of him, and he\u2019s maybe not so interested in creating a cogent structure, but he does want to allow thoughts, images and emotions to flow out onto the screen.<\/p>\n You could spend days attempting to determine why the film is called It\u2019s Not Me<\/em>, mainly because its prime subject matter is the director\u2019s own work, the director\u2019s thoughts about other films and filmmakers, and the director\u2019s musing on his own life as a father. He claims that this is some ruse, a playful smokescreen of random thoughts and feelings, but beyond the archness and cynicism, there are some profound, self-reflective insights about what it means to make moving images in the 21st century.<\/p>\n And do stay right to the very end, as Carax gives the MCU a hard schooling in how a post-credit sequence should really rip.<\/p>\n To keep celebrating the craft of film, we have to rely on the support of our members. Join Club LWLies today and receive access to a host of benefits.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n