Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- confrontational
- hypnotic
- claustrophobic
- arthouse film night
- film school viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually stylish and formally ambitious but hollow and frustrating in its dramatic and essayistic substance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Béatrice and Charlotte discuss cinema and witch stories while the film set itself becomes the central dramatic arena.
The climactic set-piece employs split-screen imagery, strobing light, and fragmented viewpoints to render escalating on-set chaos.
The actresses and crew struggle through a chaotic shoot whose creative demands turn into collective hysterics.
The conversations about witches and filmmaking are paired with an essayistic meditation on devotion to film and the instability of its working conditions.
Films like Lux Æterna, and why
Irma Vep
shared experimental filmmaking, backstage chaos, divided perspectives, and abrasive visual intensity
Day for Night
shared meta-cinematic subject, volatile production environment, and theatrical performance of artistic conflict
Enter the Void
shared formal audacity, sensory overload, and psychologically destabilizing use of color and sound
Climax
shared confrontational avant-garde style, claustrophobic group dynamics, and escalating emotional distress
Movie Details
- Director
- Gaspar Noé
- Release Date
- 2020-09-23
- Runtime
- 51 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (301)
Cast
- Charlotte Gainsbourg
- Béatrice Dalle
- Abbey Lee
- Karl Glusman
- Clara 3000
- Claude-Emmanuelle Gajan-Maull
- Félix Maritaud
- Mica Argañaraz
- Anatole Devoucoux du Buysson
- Paul Hameline
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, ARROW
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Lux Æterna about?
- A volatile film set becomes a hallucinatory battleground between artistic devotion, performance, and cinematic chaos.
- What is Lux Æterna like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Lux Æterna as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Lux Æterna violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Lux Æterna.
- What did critics think of Lux Æterna?
- Critics broadly found the film visually stylish and formally ambitious but hollow and frustrating in its dramatic and essayistic substance.
- Which films are like Lux Æterna?
- Films with a similar feel include Irma Vep, Day for Night, Enter the Void, and Climax.
- How long is Lux Æterna?
- Lux Æterna runs 51 minutes.
- Where can I watch Lux Æterna?
- In United States, Lux Æterna streams on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, ARROW.
