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Ismael’s Ghosts

Les fantômes d'Ismaël

2017

Arnaud Desplechin

Mathieu Amalric, Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Louis Garrel ...

5.2

509

Drama The story follows a filmmaker whose life is sent into a tailspin by the return of a former lover just as he is about to embark on the shoot of a new film.

	Author	Review
United States	Boyd van Hoeij The Hollywood Reporter	"[The] screenplay is a treasure trove of references to themes and even types of characters from some of the great classics and Desplechin’s own films (..) The use of both dialogue and film language is sophisticated (...) the acting is superb."	POS
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"A jumbled, prismatic portrait of a filmmaker haunted by his past (...) How much of this cinematic pseudo-selfie is informed by life experience? Hard to say — and even harder to swallow."	NEU
United States	Eric Kohn IndieWire	"The opening film of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival is several movies at once, some more successful than others (...) Still, the movie retains an air of elegance."	NEU
United States	Ben Croll The Wrap	"[It] was never going to be a great film, but it’s a tasteful way to kick off the 70th Cannes Film Festival"	NEU
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Despite a classy cast, which includes Charlotte Gainsbourg and Mathieu Amalric alongside Cotillard, Arnaud Desplechin’s Cannes opener is a baffling mess (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"	NEG
United Kingdom	Robbie Collin Telegraph	"Desplechin stages this reunion as a haunting, and his three leads play it to prickling perfection (...) There’s frustration in it too (...) [but] it’s a price worth paying (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Lisa Nesselson Screendaily	"The stories bounce around in time but are suspenseful and intriguing rather than confusing"	POS

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