“PARALLEL LIVES AND VANISHING CHARACTERS”

By Raymond Benson

I was happy to finally catch up with Clouds of Sils Maria since I missed its theatrical run; the picture received many accolades, especially for Kristen Stewart, who apparently was the first American to win the César award for Supporting Actress, as well as several critics’ awards for the same category.

The film is a commentary on the state of Hollywood filmmaking, an examination of the psychological dynamics between women, and a philosophical—sometimes playful—dramatization of parallel lives/characters. It’s as if an Ingmar Bergman movie was crossed with one by Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Juliette Binoche stars as Maria, a popular, internationally-known actress who appears in European and Hollywood films, and on the stage. Stewart indeed gives a remarkable performance—the best I’ve ever seen her do—as Valentine, Maria’s personal assistant. Twenty-something years earlier, Maria had starred in a stage play and subsequent film adaptation about a lesbian relationship between an older business woman and a younger subordinate. Maria had played the latter role and this launched her career. Now, a respected Dutch director wants to remount the play with Maria playing the older role and casting the younger one with a hot, tabloid-fodder Hollywood actress named Jo-Ann, magnificently portrayed by Chloë Grace Moretz. Maria has her doubts about playing the older role but accepts the part anyway.

Most of the picture involves the interplay between Maria and Valentine, who run lines from the play together, with Valentine doing Jo-Ann’s part. At times, though, we begin to wonder if the dialogue is really from the play or if it’s the real-life dramatic action between Maria the actress and Valentine the assistant. This is where director Assayas starts to have fun with the actors—and the audience. The characters fight, they make up, they joke around, and they dissect Hollywood and its stars. Real actors are mentioned, and current trends (aka superhero movies) are lampooned. Things get heated when Valentine is more receptive to current Hollywood fare than Maria. Assayas’ ageism message here is not subtle.

What is understated and enigmatic is when a key character of the story inexplicably vanishes—and the film goes on as if that person never existed. Did she? Is that an observation about the movie business, or is it an interpretation of the friendship/conflict relationships that women sometimes have?

It’s heady stuff.

The title refers to a natural phenomenon that really exists near the village of Sils Maria in Switzerland, in which a “snake” of clouds rolls through the Maloja Pass valley when the weather conditions are just right. Most of the film is shot there, and Yorick Le Saux’s gorgeous cinematography captures the event at the moment when the aforementioned vanishing occurs.

The Criterion Collection’s 2K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, is superb. Supplements include a new interview with director Assayas; new interviews with both Binoche and Stewart; a short 1924 silent documentary, Cloud Phenomena of Maloja, parts of which also feature in the movie; and the trailer. The enclosed booklet contains an essay by critic Molly Haskell.

Clouds of Sils Maria might require a couple of viewings to fully appreciate, but its rewards are full, fluffy, and cumulus.

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