Film Review – Annette

To describe the films of Leos Carax as an acquired taste doesn’t quite do justice to the type of surreal, free-flowing work the director typically offers. He’s been away from screens for quite some time, with “Annette” is first feature since 2012’s “Holy Motors,” and the helmer is ready to attempt something truly oddball with the endeavor. It’s an opera, with some rock rhythm to get it up on its feet at times, finding Carax teaming with the band Sparks (comprised of Ron and Russell Mael), who are currently enjoying quite a moment after the release of “The Sparks Brothers,” an Edgar Wright documentary about the group released in June. With such fondness for weirdness shared between Sparks and Carax, “Annette” seems like a major opportunity to blow minds with this merging of artful powers. Alas, appreciating the working parts of the movie and actually sitting through it are two different experiences, and while eccentricity helps the effort get through some stagnant sequences, this isn’t quite the soaring cinematic event it should’ve been. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com