Le Deuxième Acte (2024)

Mischievous and prolific… Duipeux’s latest film “The Second Act” premiered at Cannes’ official opening yesterday. The film, intimate, humorous, and quite satirical about cinema itself, is an unassuming yet attention-grabbing mise-en-abyme piece.

The review in Turkish can be found in the comments section.

The film’s long tracking shots and strong cinematography are quite impressive. The actors not only break the fourth wall but also blur the lines between fiction and reality with their interventions in the film, leading to a complete loss of wall perception at one point. Similarly, the characters jumping from role to role blur the boundaries between reality and fiction. The question of what is film and what is real is quite permeable beyond the roles; while Seydoux believes in the sincerity of the musician story in Titanic, Garrel argues that the affairs with industry figures may be acceptable because these are simply not real.

In the film, as the actors shoot the film without the presence of a “proper director,” the camera also is off-frame. The film touches on the challenges of shooting as well actors egos, emotions, and problems. But at the same time, it doesn’t shy away from some contemporary issues such as cancel culture, woke and artificial intelligence.

The film’s finale separates viewers one by one from all the film-within-a-film sequences that enveloped them with a long tracking shot, ultimately ending with an impressive conclusion that transitions from dolly tracks to the life itself.

Watched it @ Cannes Premiere (Out of Competition)