France 2024, 88 min, English, Hebrew & English subtitles
French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin, known for his sprawling screenplays, dynamic editing, and Sixties nostalgia, crafts an eloquent, whimsical, and gorgeous hybrid film. In it, he ponders the magic of cinema, revisits the invention of cinematography, and examines the personal-yet-collective experience of watching movies, wondering how films conjure alternate realities and parallel timelines, and even stir human desires. This intelligent and delightful labyrinth unfolds through scenes from the life of Paul Dédalus, a recurring fictional character in Desplechin’s narrative films (My Sex Life… or How I Got into an Argument, My Golden Days, and Ismael’s Ghosts), who grew up under the spell of the silver screen.
