I like 'Ishmael's ghosts.' I find it an enjoyable experience. But this is absolutely not a feature that a general audience could easily latch onto. It's dense, and relies ponderously on the strength of the primary cast's performances.
Mathieu Amalric, Marion Cotillard, and Charlotte Gainsbourg are all phenomenal actors, wherever one may see them. Alone they contain multitudes, seeming to very naturally carry and fluidly deliver every necessary emotion and line of dialogue for the roles they inhabit. Together, in any combination, they are marvelous scene partners; it feels as though they manifest their own dynamics regardless of what is written or directed, building and releasing tension entirely on their own. A fine screenplay or substantive camerawork may guide them and lend aid to their craft, but they are the stars in the truest sense.
Here they deftly maneuver a narrative flow that is more fast-paced than I ever could have imagined, and dialogue that's often issued with the speed of an emotionally distraught auctioneer. They rein in that unwieldy rapidity and conduct it to their own intention. Those words between actors, or spoken in voiceover as narration, are superb in their writing, if usually undeniably obtuse.
And the skills of the cast are ever more essential because 'Ishmael's ghosts' strikes me very much as less a film, and more a stage play realized on film. There appear to be two distinct acts. Grégoire Hetzel's score is of a playful mood-setting character that suggests compositions played over a theater's sound system. Particularly in the first half, cinematic scenes are so heavy with dialogue, and interactions between characters, as to suggest "scenes" in the sense of a stageplay; filming locations, set decoration, and shots flesh out the play's setting with a modest flourish as only a film can - while also serving the same purpose as a live scene change. The last few minutes of the movie consist largely of Gainsbourg speaking directly into the camera, as though an actor seated downstage, looking out into the audience.
And while there is definite plot here, the more that the feature focuses strictly on its characters, the more the forces of and between them indicate to me a theatrical production. Carlotta almost seems a living embodiment of gnawing doubt, uncertainty, and fear in the most esoteric sense. Her arrival exposes rifts in characters' relationships and even in their perceptions of themselves, their very sense of self. She left feeling crushed under the weight of Ishmael's single-minded purpose, and her departure allowed for the freeing, invigorating spirit of Sylvia to take hold in his life. Her return portends a shift in balance, whereupon Sylvia's liberating energy falters, and Ishmael's purpose is left to wallow adrift in Carlotta's wake. In the second act, Sylvia's lofty air retreats above the clouds - Carlotta's disquiet disperses and floats elsewhere as if on a breeze - and Ishmael, his purpose unmoored, increasingly languishes in the confused, directionless fervor that accompanied his wife's return. To a lesser extent, supporting characters echo this bent: actress Faunia (Alba Rohrwacher) represents youth, and youthful dreams, that Ishmael wishes to hold onto; line producer Zwy (Hippolyte Girardot) bears strong intent as he pleadingly seeks to reorient Ishmael's purpose.
A greater emphasis on genuine narrative in the second act somewhat breaks the spell cast by the first, yet the performances of all involved continue to anchor 'Ishmael's ghosts' and do much of the work to make it engrossing. Fine editing boosts visuals that further cement the notion of a stage play while complementing steady camerawork and dissecting characters' mindsets. Costume design, though subservient to other aspects, is just as carefully considered.
This is, as the saying goes, a tough nut to crack. I can't begrudge anyone for finding it difficult to engage with; I'm unsure that I've totally caught what the film-makers have produced. But 'Ishmael's ghosts' is a well-made feature generally, and Amalric, Cotillard, and Gainsbourg's performances alone are worth giving it a try.
Mathieu Amalric, Marion Cotillard, and Charlotte Gainsbourg are all phenomenal actors, wherever one may see them. Alone they contain multitudes, seeming to very naturally carry and fluidly deliver every necessary emotion and line of dialogue for the roles they inhabit. Together, in any combination, they are marvelous scene partners; it feels as though they manifest their own dynamics regardless of what is written or directed, building and releasing tension entirely on their own. A fine screenplay or substantive camerawork may guide them and lend aid to their craft, but they are the stars in the truest sense.
Here they deftly maneuver a narrative flow that is more fast-paced than I ever could have imagined, and dialogue that's often issued with the speed of an emotionally distraught auctioneer. They rein in that unwieldy rapidity and conduct it to their own intention. Those words between actors, or spoken in voiceover as narration, are superb in their writing, if usually undeniably obtuse.
And the skills of the cast are ever more essential because 'Ishmael's ghosts' strikes me very much as less a film, and more a stage play realized on film. There appear to be two distinct acts. Grégoire Hetzel's score is of a playful mood-setting character that suggests compositions played over a theater's sound system. Particularly in the first half, cinematic scenes are so heavy with dialogue, and interactions between characters, as to suggest "scenes" in the sense of a stageplay; filming locations, set decoration, and shots flesh out the play's setting with a modest flourish as only a film can - while also serving the same purpose as a live scene change. The last few minutes of the movie consist largely of Gainsbourg speaking directly into the camera, as though an actor seated downstage, looking out into the audience.
And while there is definite plot here, the more that the feature focuses strictly on its characters, the more the forces of and between them indicate to me a theatrical production. Carlotta almost seems a living embodiment of gnawing doubt, uncertainty, and fear in the most esoteric sense. Her arrival exposes rifts in characters' relationships and even in their perceptions of themselves, their very sense of self. She left feeling crushed under the weight of Ishmael's single-minded purpose, and her departure allowed for the freeing, invigorating spirit of Sylvia to take hold in his life. Her return portends a shift in balance, whereupon Sylvia's liberating energy falters, and Ishmael's purpose is left to wallow adrift in Carlotta's wake. In the second act, Sylvia's lofty air retreats above the clouds - Carlotta's disquiet disperses and floats elsewhere as if on a breeze - and Ishmael, his purpose unmoored, increasingly languishes in the confused, directionless fervor that accompanied his wife's return. To a lesser extent, supporting characters echo this bent: actress Faunia (Alba Rohrwacher) represents youth, and youthful dreams, that Ishmael wishes to hold onto; line producer Zwy (Hippolyte Girardot) bears strong intent as he pleadingly seeks to reorient Ishmael's purpose.
A greater emphasis on genuine narrative in the second act somewhat breaks the spell cast by the first, yet the performances of all involved continue to anchor 'Ishmael's ghosts' and do much of the work to make it engrossing. Fine editing boosts visuals that further cement the notion of a stage play while complementing steady camerawork and dissecting characters' mindsets. Costume design, though subservient to other aspects, is just as carefully considered.
This is, as the saying goes, a tough nut to crack. I can't begrudge anyone for finding it difficult to engage with; I'm unsure that I've totally caught what the film-makers have produced. But 'Ishmael's ghosts' is a well-made feature generally, and Amalric, Cotillard, and Gainsbourg's performances alone are worth giving it a try.
