Evan Perschetz: Holy Motors, the Spectatorial Gaze, and Cinematic Interpellation

Evan Perschetz: Holy Motors, the Spectatorial Gaze, and Cinematic Interpellation

UPON ITS RELEASE IN 2012, Leos Carax’s Holy Motors both delighted and confounded critics and commentators with its unusual episodic structure, its frequent moments of self-referentiality and allusions to other films, and its outlandish, dreamlike imagery. In attempting to make sense of the film, critics have offered several different interpretations seeking to isolate a unifying logic or theme within the film’s seemingly disjointed, often clashing segments. One contingent has identified the film as a self-reflexive statement about cinema itself, celebrating the medium’s unlimited possibilities while also mourning its apparent loss in the face of new technology. Other critics, however, have viewed the film as a pure spectacle whose bizarre pleasures are their own reward.