Holy Motors

"Apocalyptic to its very core, there is a palpable teleological suggestion that Carax’s world is set at the endpoint of humanity and cinema. Humans only exist to be elsewhere (or someone else), and CGI and digital artifacts (e.g. datamoshing) crop up just as often in the film as brief zoopraxiscopic silent film interludes, reminding us that this ain’t no celluloid picture being projected. Embracing the absurdity and wonder of the delirious universe he’s created, Carax has created a cinematic trifecta of beauty, humor, and wonder that almost never rears its head so masterfully."

— Blake Williams de Ion cinema

"Holy Motors is bold, romantic and hilarious experimentation at its absolute finest.(...) Holy Motors may be too mad-eyed and free-associative for some in its bold attempt to distill the entire history of cinema into a single film. Yet you’d find it tough to deny that’s this is the work of a filmmaker who feverishly battling against the limits of the form. And he’s winning too."

— David Jenkins de Little White Lies

"is dizzying, visionary, and one-of-a-kind. (...) I have no idea when or if "Holy Motors" will reach the US, but it may be the best film I've seen in my two years at this festival. I am refreshed by it, my faith in the unique power of film completely restored. I feel like I've just had my first drink of water after a drought, or my first bite of food after a fast. Even at a festival that has featured many very good or even great movies, this stands out as something special, as that hit I am always chasing when I sit down to two hours in the dark. I just hope we do not have to wait another decade for a new feature from this deranged, determined genius."

— Drew McWeeny de Hitfix

"Leos Carax's experimental odyssey is barking mad, weightless and euphoric – it's what we have all come to Cannes for. (...) And what the heck does it all mean? Perhaps Carax is creating his own secular Buddhism – the longed-for release of reincarnation made available right here, right now, over and over again. Or perhaps it is a commentary on identity and personae – how we all, in TS Eliot's words, prepare a face to meet the faces that we meet. Perhaps this is a multiple personality disorder: a series of symptoms caused by some awful tragedy: certainly his final musical number suggests this. Or perhaps it is a bravura exercise in pure imagination. Well, it's funny, it's freaky: a butterfly that breaks the wheel of convention. It's just crazy enough to win."

— Peter Bradshaw de The Guardian

"Is Holy Motors the most bonkers film ever?. The new offering from Leos Carax features Eva Mendes allowing a man called Monsieur Merde to eat her hair, two bonobo chimps playing house in suburban Paris, an extended scene of cybermonster sex and some talking limousines, to name but a few of the film's surreal moments. There’s also a musical interlude from Kylie Minogue as a suicidal air hostess. Bonkers it may be, but Holy Motors met with rapturous applause – and some equally loud boos – at its first screening and is being hailed as a serious Palme d’Or contender. "

— Anita Singh de Daily Telegraph