Holy Motors

If you’ve been waiting for a film to come along in which the main character licks another woman’s blood onto Eva Mendes’ armpit, and then carries her into the sewer and eats her hair, you’re in luck! (They also throw in a marching accordion chorus for free.) The movie is Holy Motors, safely one of 2012’s most unique experiences. Director Leos Carax spent years developing the story—a one-day journey through the life of Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant), who shuttles from one appointment to the next in his stretch limousine. He’s an old female beggar, a high-priced assassin, a motion-capture model for a visual artist, some kind of leprechaun who kidnaps a model (that’s where Eva Mendes comes in) and a worried father. It’s a strange way of pointing out that we all wear different masks in our lives, but it’s an arresting, daring film all the same.