Mr. X

The problem with making a documentary like this on a still active artist is that inevitably it will become incomplete. This is a well made and full of good intentions doc on the work of enigmatic French film director Leos Carax. And even if we didn't need the director himself to talk about his work, some other absences are much more unforgivable (like Juliette Binoche). It feels incomplete.

I recently watched this movie at the Mumbai Film Festival, this is a wonderful documentary on French director Leos Carax and the films he's made for the past 30 years. Beginning from how the director started with 'Boy Meets Girl' (one of the fitting examples of the 'Cinema du look' movement in French cinema in the 80s) to his current cinematic poetry 'Holy Motors', its an insightful and revealing look at a director who's earned a quiet cult following after making 'Mauvais Sang' (Bad Blood). The interviewees also range quite well from critics like Richard Brody and Kent Jones to filmmakers Harmony Korine, Kiyoshi Kurosawa to his collaborators Denis Lavant, Caroline Champetier, Mireille Perrier, giving us material from how Carax works on set, his inventive and imaginative artistry, and his inspiration to a new generation of filmmakers around the world. Many movie lovers praising him to be a romantic poet of cinema.

If you do find this documentary playing on a TV channel or anywhere in your theaters, (and of course if you're a fan and love Carax's films) go watch it, a lovely trip into the mind of a contemporary underrated director.

Very engaging documentary on Leos Carax and all his films released before 2014. I think it did a good job at capturing his unique style and the feel his films often have within a documentary format. The info and content itself is good, too.

One main complaint is that I wish it was longer. I would have been happy for them to spend 20-30 minutes on each film rather than 10-15. Particularly with Lovers on the Bridge, it seems like there's so much more that could be said.