Returning to the Cannes Film Festival after Annette, Leos Carax premiered his 40-minute cinematic self-portrait It’s Not Me. Thankfully snapped up by Sideshow and Janus Films for a North American release, it’ll actually get a French release in a few weeks and now the first trailer has arrived.
With It’s Not Me, Leos Carax is making a self portrait unlike any other. He commented, “Lots of painters have done theirs, of course. I tried to make mine without any mirror. A self-portrait seen from behind. Or, like in a dream dreamed many years ago: how come I can see myself in that mirror, even though my eyes are closed?—and when I check in the mirror, my eyes are indeed closed.”
Savina Petkova said in her review, “It’s Not Me boasts an eclectic visual style, fully embracing various ratios, formats, and stock conditions that come with the original materials used to assemble a cine-essay. The Carax works used are, of course, restored and pristine, and so are many other French films evoked by a frame or two; what is left unsaid are the levels of access such a big name has, and how little his team needs to worry about clearing copyright (unlike the mortal film essayists). This new project is a reflection on 40 years of directing––since the Cannes Critics Week premiere of Boy Meets Girl in 1984––that manages to keep a sober tone and eschew nostalgia (largely). There is also some new footage shot specifically for the purpose, the camerawork of course entrusted to Caroline Champetier (Holy Motors, Annette), as well as some personal archive bits where Carax records his young daughter on Pont Neuf.”
See the French trailer below.