Irma Vep more than likely falls into a category that in, which the films are uniquely aware of themselves. Cinema is not magic; it is a technique and science. Olivier Assayas is a technician who is studying the science of filmmaking. Perhaps there is no magic the viewer can experience in this particular piece because Assayas is denying them that opportunity. Instead, Irma Vep is a film that is strictly set on studying itself. It is a world of film that is strictly aware only of itself and nothing more. God exists only within the director as for this is his world and his inhabitants. His story is his soul; nothing else consumes Rene than this. He would rather destroy his own creation than have it fall into the hands that threaten to take over his world. One could assume that he poisoned his own film. Rene is our mentor within the context of the film.
Irma Vep is a film that seemingly blends itself together within its very self. This world of film is marked only by celluloid. Maggie Cheung loses herself within the character of Irma Vep, taking on characteristics of the character herself. Does it consume her? This is inevitably leading back to her conversation with Rene about Irma Vep only being a part she is set to play. One might be able to argue that this is a direct parallel in the roles that humans have been set to play in their daily life. Is some unknown force directing us?
Maggie Cheung tests Rene’s theory of how there are no parts or roles, just the characters themselves. She is definitely in the moment when she decides to act on Irma Vep’s impulses. The only possible existence to the outside world, outside of the world of Irma Vep is Maggie Cheung’s interview with the French film reporter. It is a moment when Assayas is commenting on other films. It is the only connection outside of the world of Irma Vep, a world that Assayas is intent on keeping us in for the duration of the film.
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