Holy Motors

2012 1h 56m FR

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,308

DramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

We follow 24 hours in the life of a being moving from life to life like a cold and solitary assassin moving from hit to hit. In each of these interwoven lives, the being possesses an entirely distinct identity: sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes youthful, sometimes old. By turns murderer, beggar, company chairman, monstrous creature, worker, family man.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Denis Lavant
Mr. Oscar / Banker / Beggar / Father / Accordionist / Killer
Édith Scob
Céline
Eva Mendes
Kay M
Kylie Minogue
Eva Grace
Élise Lhomeau
Léa
Jeanne Disson
Angèle
Michel Piccoli
Man with the Wine Stain
Leos Carax
The Sleeper / Limousine (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Leos Carax
Writers: Leos Carax
Languages: French
Countries: Germany, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 16% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Leos Carax, shot by Caroline Champetier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Neil Hannon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nelly Quettier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Denis Lavant and Édith Scob and Eva Mendes carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Leos Carax directs. Caroline Champetier behind the camera. Neil Hannon scores. Nelly Quettier cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 16% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 14 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Germany, France.
5Directed by Leos Carax, shot by Caroline Champetier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Neil Hannon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Nelly Quettier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Denis Lavant and Édith Scob and Eva Mendes carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt2076220 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 29 themes, including "daughter", "work", "businessman", "photographer".

The technical file

Cinematography: Caroline Champetier
Original score: Neil Hannon
Editing: Nelly Quettier
Production design: Florian Sanson
Costume design: Anaïs Romand
Makeup / hair: Bernard Floch
VFX supervisor: Yoann Berger
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $641,100
Return: 16% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Holy Motors (2012)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Leos Carax

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-05-24
★ 7/10
This is one of the most entertainingly bizarre films I've ever seen. The title really only comes into play at the end, and that does put a little context into that, but for the rest of it we follow the curious activities of "Mr. Oscar" (Denis Lavant) who travels the city in an enormous white limousine that wouldn't have looked out of place in Atlantic City, being driven by "Céline" (Edith Scob). His departure in the morning, suited and booted, would lead us to believe he is some high-powered financial operative; his phone calls talking about 150% etc. fuel that illusion til his driver informs him that his first "appointment" of the day is detailed in a file. To our surprise, we are now drawn back into his car to find it a fully equipped dressing room, complete with make up lights and an extensive collection of cosmetics and costumes. Thereafter, throughout the day, he assumes a series of disguises and carries out some mysterious and/or shocking tasks with the likes of Eva Mendez, Kylie Minogue and Michel Piccoli. He is at one moment a disagreeable vagrant, then doing his own virtual "John Wick" combat scenes in a CGI suite - but why? Who is this man? What on earth is it all about? It's clearly got a moral, well a collection of morals, and these gradually fall into place, but I still took quite a while to realise... It's a wee bit slow at times, but the variety of performances from Lavant are almost vaudeville in their range - there's barely a task to which he cannot turn his creative hand! It won't be for everyone, this, but it's quirky and innovative and far removed from the mundane and procedural. If you're going to watch it, though, turn off all your distractions and give it an undivided two hours, otherwise it will lose it's effectively accumulating punch!
Felicity2025-06-09
★ 7/10
This movie was entertaining but I'm not sure what I saw. It's going on my "re-watch" list.