Presented by the Victoria Film Festival
=0D=0A=Friday February 3, 2017 at 9:00PM
=0D=0A=Sunday February 5, 2017 at 1:30PM
=0D=0A=Maureen (Kristen Stewart) hates her job. However, the saving grace of being a personal shopper for a Paris fashionista is that it allows her to remain in Paris and provides time to concentrate on moonlighting as a medium in search of her recently deceased brother’s spirit. After an encounter with a ghost at her family home, Maureen begins receiving mysterious text messages. Unsure of who or what is sending the texts, she is compelled to connect.
=0D=0A=Director Olivier Assayas’ first entry into psychologically potent material gives him a stretch and he moves beyond a ghost story to a subtle commentary on connection and technology. Assayas shows how easily technology has become the go-to tool for combating loneliness and reshaping identities. The strange sense of anonymity that technology provides is compelling and in Personal Shopper could have dire consequences.
=0D=0A=But everyone involved in the film, from cinematographer Yorick Le Saux’s camera closely stalking Maureen, to the sound designer’s off-screen soundscape, to the composer’s music sneaking up on us with predatory intent, create a singular work.
=0D=0A=For Kristen Stewart, it’s her second film for Olivier Assayas and similar to the assistant she played in Sils Maria (VFF 2014), and she again brings a controlled subtly to the screen.
=0D=0A=I’ve rarely seen a film that is as unsettling in a very subtle way as this one.
=0D=0A=Release Year: 2016
Runtime: 105 minutes
Directed By: Olivier Assayas
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Tickets: https://boxoffice.victoriafilmfestival.com/film.php?id=1309&noIframe=1
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