Incredible But True

"INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE commences with an intriguing question mark hanging over audience's heads, only when the answer is revealed (in a two-fold step implemented through slightly confusing montages), the story goes less fantastic than it promises, the immemorial obsession of a woman gets her youth back (so she can be a model, no less) is tiring and its 'skin deep' revelation also feels too facile. The ensuing marital discord never reaches its boiling point, and the entire third act is composed of dialogue-less, fast-forward, rapidly spliced shots that condense years of story into one predictable combo, it seems Dupieux himself has lost patience to the banality of the script and just wanted to reach the finish line as quickly as possible."

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If you have watched other Quentin's Dupieux movies, you know what to expect. This is another comedy/drama/fantasy movie, surreal, bizarre, funny and weird. His movies are like a Parallel World, it's looking like ours, but it's not.

This movie is more coherent than his previous ones, there are some understandable messages here. It's a satire of modern way of living/of our shallow ambitions. Viewer gets what Dupieux try to say. Vanity is an unseen enemy of our happiness.

This is a better movie than Le daim (2019), better than WRONG (2012), a little bit worse than REALITY (2014).

I can't rate it higher because it didn't amaze me. It's clever, not brilliant. Enjoyable, not exciting. You will not think about this movie after you watch it, just like almost every other movie of him. In any case, if you haven't heard of this director, and you find it interesting as it was described, watch it.

Quentin Dupieux - I assume you have heard from him. Even better if you have seen a movie or two he has done. If not - well you are in for a treat. A treat that you might like - you hopefully like that is. It is tough to describe or talk about the story when it comes to his movies. Still this is one of the ones that I guess you could say makes sense.

Sense if you are open to the supernatural other dimensions and time travel. Sounds like a lot - maybe I packed more in there than needed ... but one thing is for sure: you have to be open minded. Even more open minded than the husband. But way less than his wife ... or at least less enthusiastic that is.

Japanese inventions, ladders to "infinity" and more crazy stuff can be found here. And all is more or less accepted as part of the world the character live in. Really good acting and shorter than 80 minutes this is a delight to say the least.

This brilliant short long movie (74 minutes) is defined as comedy drama fantasy. In fact it's a sci-fi satire but since fantasy and sci-fi are next of kin I'll accept the term. As for comedy drama - it's a non term to begin with but satire seem to confuse many since it uses humor as its main weapon.

That was all I'll speak about definitions, regarding the movie itself - like all good sci-fi it speaks about the world we live in and more specifically about our gadget worshiping culture. We get here two gadgets one is straightforward gadget - mechanical - Japanese namely coming from the country in which gadgets are the new state religion so it's a gadget with a kosher stamp on it. The other gadget is more of an unexplained device, but as far as I'm concerned it works just like a gadget. It performs a very special trick which the movie accepts as true - unbelievable but true - as the movie title's declares. And its being used by one of the leads in the movie just like any other gadget, so that the way I'll refer to it. As a rule - and that's the reason we get two gadgets in the movie so we can establish a rule and not discuss an episode of a sort - gadgets are born from voids in our lives we need to fill - but voids tend to remain empty no matter how much one tries to fill them. Here lies the problem - trying to fill a void can quickly become an addiction and addictions are dangerous.

So if the fact we all know addictions are dangerous means that this movie is predictable - not really - it means that it establishes its own set of rules and quickly demonstrates to us how these rules correspond with the rules we live by and bring about the same results, for me that's not being predictable but rather brilliant script writing. Combine this with very good acting performances with Lea Drucker topping the list, with very efficient camera work that doesn't need any cinematic fireworks but does deliver. And in my personal book you get a near masterpiece. Go see it - Quentin Dupieux is a director to watch.

The myth of eternal youth as seen by Quentin Dupieux. Original and quite funny, and also a little sad since eternal youth is a myth. With excellent performers, in particular Alain Chabat, Lea Drucker, Benoît Magimel and Anaïs Demoustier.