Holy Motors

Rarely is there a film that can overall feel completely disjointed while still maintain a sense of story and build a character throughout the entirety of the run time. Nearly every moment in Holy Motors comes as a complete surprise, lacking any sort of build story wise to essentially every major scene in the film. Surprisingly this disjointedness also is able to build a character that the viewer is able to sympathize with.

The film centers around a man, Mr. Oscar, who is what seems to be, for lack of a better description, a street performer of sorts. There is no real introduction as to who Mr. Oscar is or what his profession actually entails. He is first shown as a wealthy banker, with body guards following his every movements. This visage is quickly made obvious the minute he gets into the limousine that will be essentially the only source of his "true self" throughout most of the film. Within the limousine he is briefed on his appointments for the day and given time to get himself into costume for each "scene", all of which are portrayed and seen and presented as reality until the very end of each scene. Mr. Oscar is put though a vast range of seemingly completely random emotional scenarios, all of which are performed beautifully and he seems to be very attached to the character he is playing, only to completely detach the moment the scene is concluded.

Mr. Oscars apparent emotional detachment from the scenes he is portraying was most relevant when he portrays the old man in bed dying. Him and his niece have a heart felt conversation in his last moments of life, her holding his hand as he dies there in front of her. Only seconds after his "death" he abruptly gets up to make his way to his next appointment. This shows that not only is he able to act as and create very convincing character personalities, but he can flow though these different personalities easily and with little effect on his "normal" life.

The only scene outside of the limo that portrayed a true look into Mr. Oscars personality and emotions was the scene in which his limo gets cut off by another limo transporting a long lost friend and companion. The remainder of the film from this point on seems to be a true portrayal of Mr. Oscar and not just another appointment. The two take a slow walk through an abandoned shopping mall, reminiscing their past with each other. It is the only scene in which Mr. Oscar does not have an abrupt change of character to begin with or end with. While this scene gives one of the most true looks at Mr. Oscars character, it also contains the most non-true-to-life moment in the film. While him and Jean (I believe was her name?) are reminiscing, she eventually breaks into song, creating a Disney-esque musical moment. As odd and nonsensical as everything else within the film is, this scene stood out as the most "staged". It was the only moment that didn't feel like a bizarre but real life event. To cap this scene off though, we are given THE biggest look into Mr. Oscar's emotional character as he sees that Jean and her partner have committed suicide.

Even though nothing that Mr. Oscar is shown going through could be considered normal or relatable, there is still empathy felt for his character when he is shown going through the trauma of the death of his old friend. Even when he is shown going back to his home for the night, in which he apparently lives with monkeys...

That accordion scene. So cool.