Seven Veils

Atom Egoyan at the opening of IFFO 2024

I had the good fortune to attend the open night of this year's IFFO - the International Film Festival of Ottawa. Atom Egoyan was there in person for the festival's showcase opener, his film "Seven Veils." The Ottawa audience gave him a standing ovation at the end. Well deserved. It's an intense film with many moving parts and lots of characters - it's also arty as stink. I loved it. What's it all about?  Amanda Seyfried plays, Jeanine, a woman who is tasked with putting on an Opera, Salome (pronounced Sal-a-may). Jeanine has done this before, but under the wing or tutelage of her former boss, who has recently passed away - this is at his widow's request. Jeanine had an affair with her old boss and Jeanine's husband seems to be currently having one with the caretaker of Jeanine's mother. Confused yet? There is more! There are flashbacks to Jeanine's childhood and arty-farty home movies made by her dad where Jeanine was the star. Then there is the production and the play of Salome itself, a gruesome play involved unrequited love and a beheading. There is a lot going on here and it's a miracle (or maybe it's genius?) Egoyan manages to keep it all straight for us. Like some of his other films, themes of sex, love, and voyeurism prevail - these things are messy and lines between these elements get crossed both literally and figuratively. I found it to be a fascinating watch. I need to see it again. Catch this one in theatres when it comes out for wide screen distribution.