Clouds of Sils Maria

Clouds of Sils Maria is Olivier Assayas in Summer Hours mode: a stripped-down chamber drama that looks slight at first glance, but quickly reveals itself to be very expansive. In this case, it’s due to the levels of meta-reality Assayas stacks on top of each other: Binoche and Stewart riff on their established personas, while simultaneously playing characters who spend most of their time rehearsing a play in which they increasingly notice parallels with their own identities.