When we watched Meshes of the Afternoon in class, I struggled to make sense of all the characters and symbols in the film but one of the first things that came to mind when the mirror-faced figure appeared was the 1960s French film Eyes Without a Face by Georges Franju, which I had watched after hearing the iconic Billy Idol song of the same name (Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol). My thought process was roughly around the lines of how the mirrored figure seemed to lack an identity, relying instead on the perception of the observer—kinda like the plot of Eyes Without a Face in which this plastic surgeon is obsessed with restoring his disfigured daughter’s face after a car accident so he murders people to transplant their faces onto her. By the end, only her eyes remain unchanged, making her truly “eyes without a face.” No face, no identity, spooky. I initially assumed the mirrored figure might be a reference to that film, but then I realized that Eyes Without a Face came out nearly 20 years after Meshes of the Afternoon, so I quickly trashed the idea.

Later in the evening, while we watched Holy Motors, I kept my phone next to me and so I could read the plot on Wikipedia to keep track of the film when I was genuinely lost. When the limo driver Celine put on a teal mask at the end, I clicked the footnote out of curiosity—and to my surprise, I discovered that Celine’s actress was the same one from Eyes Without a Face! And then I realize that the mask she put on was a reference to that earlier film, because it looks just like the one worn in Eyes Without a Face! And then I realize they literally said something in the film about eyes!!! And on top of that the model is veiled in the catacombs so that we only see her eyes!!!! I don’t watch alot of movies so it was a really cool feeling to pick up on that somewhat obscure and French reference!

These are the exchanges that came to my mind:

L’Homme à la tache de vin: What makes you carry on, Oscar?
Mr. Oscar: What made me start, the beauty of the act.
L’Homme à la tache de vin: Beauty? They say it’s in the eye, the eye of the beholder.
Mr. Oscar: And if there’s no more beholder?

I’m thinking this speaks on the fact that with the arrival of film in general the actor/performer is no longer able to perceive their audience. As film evolves more and more the performer and viewer become increasingly disconnected so much so that the film industry is grabbing at straws, becomingly increasingly more absurd, and inhumane to satisfy an audience it can no longer even identify. Oscar can no longer even perceive the cameras he believes are capturing him. The audience are no longer seen as individuals but rather indifferent, expressionless eyes just consuming what is presented to them. It kind of reminds me of how some influencers on social media do crazy things for views.

Eva Grace: Is that your hair?
Mr. Oscar: No, not yet. They made me older. Are those your eyes?
Eva Grace: No. They’re Eva’s eyes

What do you guys think is the significance of this casting choice? Significance of those exchanges?