A viewer’s response to Héléna Klotz’s Spirit of Ecstasy depends on one’s feelings towards the finance world. I am someone who has no familiarity with it, but I feel like I can watch a movie set in an alternate universe and find more kernels of humanity than this movie provides. But let’s back up a bit and talk about these characters, starting with the protagonist, Jeanne Francouer (Pomme). They’re an insomniac and a finance nb-bro who wows one of her bosses (Sofiane Zermani) to take them under his wing. He does this because he thinks they can get money from an heiress (Anna Mouglalis). But reminding them of the finite nature of success is their on and off boyfriend (Niels Schneider), back from the Gendarmerie.
Again, there isn’t a lot of humanity within Spirit of Ecstasy, so perhaps I’m being too nice with the star rating you’ll see above. The boyfriend’s scenes are the best thing here, especially that dreamy ten minute stretch. It’s also been more than a decade since Niels Schneider was in anything good, thus the brownie points. The transition between those scenes and the rest of the film’s fictional world feels smooth enough, but I’d rather not go back to that world. It’s not like the movie is doing anything interesting to make that world jump out. A character also betrays Jeanne by the third act but by that point, I stopped caring about what else happens here.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Drama
- Release Date: 9/9/2023
- Directed by: Héléna Klotz
- Starring: Anna Mouglalis, Niels Schneider, Pomme
- Produced by: Justin Taurand
- Written by: Emily Barnett, Héléna Klotz, Noé Debré
- Studio: Les films du Bélier
