The Congress

"You have a dream? Be your dream, for God's sake." -- The Congress

What a strange movie "The Congress" is. Part live action and part animation, it's a dreamy, looping, psychedelic exploration of Hollywood's human meat machine, what happens when beautiful women get older, and the threat technology poses to our souls. Starring Robin Wright as Robin Wright, Jon Hamm as a besotted animator/fan, and Danny Huston as the shouty Harvey Weinstein-esque head of Miramount Studios, it serves as both a revelation regarding the cost of celebrity and a scorching exposure of the toll it takes on us as vampiric aspirers. In order to take care of her sick son, Wright sells her likeness to the studio and scores immortality as a techno-replicant of herself. The movie is at its best in cartoon-land, featuring funny cameos by Ron Jeremy, Tom Cruise, and Frida Kahlo. Unfortunately, it's no "Waltz with Bashir," a profound consideration of the toll that war takes on our collective humanity. "The Congress" is something of a beautiful, riveting mess, albeit one that tells a truth most movies -- and Hollywood -- struggle to hide.