Arnaud Desplechin's latest film, Ismael's Ghost (2017) has garnered mixed reviews. I enjoyed A Christmas Tale and Kings & Queen, so when I saw that both Charolette Gainsbourg and Marion Cotillard were starring in it, I thought it was worth giving it a chance. The film is about a director, Ismael (Mathieu Almaric) who is going through something akin to a midlife crisis. He is making a film abut an estranged brother-that is seen as a film with in a film. His mentor is his presumed dead ex-wife's father-also a film maker who blames him for her death. He begins an affair with an astrophysicist, Sylvia (Gainsbourg), and while they are at the sea on a getaway, Ismael's ex-wife, Carolotta (Cotillard)-who was presumed dead, arrives and upsets the balance of Ismael's life. The film within a film seems completely unnecessary and the other plots strands feel overlong and indulgent. There is some great cinematography and the three leads put in memorable performances, but it is all rather drawn out and somewhat over the top for a French art film.
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