![]() ![]() The stakes are low-Matsuda wants somebody who can deliver a cheap but engaging one-take horror movie to launch her new horror-themed streaming platform-but they seem high enough given the many schticky personalities working on the project. Matsuda (Yoshiko Takehara, in the same role that she previously had in “One Cut of the Dead”). Director Remi ( Romain Duris) takes a paycheck and struggles to spin several plates after he’s offered a job by the genial but disengaged producer Mounir ( Lyes Salem), negotiating on behalf of the Japanese TV executive Mrs. Maybe it doesn’t matter that the 36-minute zombie pastiche that kicks off “Final Cut” looks both more polished and less dynamic than the one that begins “One Cut of the Dead.” The rest of “Final Cut” presumably matters more since that’s when we learn all about the fictional jobbers who made that tired-looking horror pic. Some film buffs might not be surprised to learn that “Final Cut” was directed and adapted by Michel Hazanavicius, whose toothless but watchable meta-comedies include the silent movie homage “ The Artist,” the “OSS 117” spy spoofs, and the French New Wave sex dramedy “Redoubtable.” Others might wonder how the ideal viewer of “Final Cut,” who presumably already loves watching movies, is supposed to walk away feeling energized instead of exhausted. ![]() Rather, “Final Cut” is busy but not complex, clever but not smart, and involved rather than involving. ![]() To be fair, watching “Final Cut” didn’t remind me of doing homework because the movie required me to love or have deep knowledge of the filmmaking process. The dead air and pregnant pauses now feel heavier, and while that’s sometimes amusing, “Final Cut” also rarely seems as playful or ingratiating as “One Cut of the Dead.” But somehow, in trying that much harder to enunciate the original movie’s already clear message, the makers of “Final Cut” suck the fun out of the chaotic working conditions and heroic problem-solving skills required to make anything. There’s more dialogue in this remake, especially for its supporting characters, and therefore more attention is paid to the movie within the movie’s nature as a collaborative effort. The next 70+ minutes follow the making of that movie. Like that recent word-of-mouth smash, “Final Cut” follows the making of a Z-grade horror movie within the movie, which is presented without commentary during the movie’s first half hour or so. I thought about homework as I watched “Final Cut,” a French remake of “ One Cut of the Dead,” the meta-textual and often monotonous Japanese zombie comedy. A favorite college professor once compared listening to modern (i.e., 20 th century) opera to doing homework, especially if you weren’t already familiar with the conventions, the tropes, and the general form that modern composers were either departing from or reacting to. ![]()
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