MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Barbara

Barbara

2017 · 98 min

A slow, immersive study of artistic obsession, blurring the line between performer and subject, demanding patience but rewarding with emotional depth.

Overview
An actress will play Barbara, the French singer. The shoot will soon start. The actress works on her character, her voice, the songs, scores, the gestures, knitting, scenes she has to learn, things are going okay, there's progress, development, she is even overwhelmed. The film director also works, through his encounters, through archives, music, he let's himself be submerged, overwhelmed like the actress, by the actress.

Search YouTube for the trailer

Rent or buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • YouTube
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • identity
  • obsession
  • art
  • memory
  • music
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour3
Realism7
Romance2
Tension2
Darkness3
Complexity7
Emotional weight6

More like this

Titles like Barbara

Movie

Music is Music/Crazy Girl Crazy

2017

An intimate, poetic peek into a performer's craft, blending rehearsal footage and narration into a hushed, precise meditation on artistry.

Same director: Mathieu Amalric · Earnest · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Mathieu Amalric
Via
  • earnest
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
21 min
Details In your watch list
Music is Music/Crazy Girl CrazyHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Simulacro

2021

A quiet, cerebral watch that blurs rehearsal and reality, asking patience as it slowly folds layers of performance and memory.

Melancholic, slow-burn · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
87 min
Details In your watch list
SimulacroHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

20,000 Days on Earth

2014

A dreamy, introspective drift through a musician's mind, blending memory and invention into a quiet, artful meditation.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about identity and art · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • art
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
97 min
Details In your watch list
20,000 Days on EarthHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Private Screening

1973

A quietly intellectual and self-reflexive drama that blurs life and art, rewarding close attention with subtle emotional reverberations.

Melancholic, earnest · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
95 min
Details In your watch list
Private ScreeningHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Melancholy Is a Movement

2015

A quiet, introspective drift through creative paralysis, dreamlike and talky, rewarding patience with a reflective mood.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
75 min
Details In your watch list
Melancholy Is a MovementHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Una actriz

1996

A quiet, cerebral meditation on performance that unfolds like a conversation between film and literature, rewarding patience more than plot.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Details In your watch list
Una actrizHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Bolero

2024

A stately, music-soaked portrait that drifts through memory and creative struggle, rewarding patience with quiet emotional resonance.

Same cinematographer: Christophe Beaucarne · Melancholic, earnest · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Also
Same cinematographer: Christophe Beaucarne
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
120 min
Details In your watch list
BoleroHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Actresses

1997

A talky, stage-bound chamber piece where four women trade memories and contradictions, rewarding patience with quietly shifting perspectives on truth.

Slow-burn · about identity and obsession · ensemble

Via
  • identity
  • obsession
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
100 min
Details In your watch list
ActressesHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Day She Returns

2026

Quiet, talky and gently puzzling, it drifts through conversations and memory with a soft, contemplative unease.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about identity and art · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • art
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
85 min
Details In your watch list
The Day She ReturnsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

8½

1963

A dizzying, dreamlike swirl of memory and imagination, playful and melancholy at once, that pulls you inside a restless artist's mind.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
139 min
Details In your watch list
8½Hidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Taurus

2022

A slow, hazy descent into creative obsession and self-destruction, immersive and uneasy.

Melancholic, slow-burn · about identity and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • identity
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
98 min
Details In your watch list
TaurusHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Song of the Swan

2022

A dreamlike, bittersweet meditation on art and sacrifice, blending ballet's grace with a quiet, haunting introspection.

Melancholic, earnest · about identity and art · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • identity
  • art
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
13 min
Details In your watch list
Song of the SwanHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, music
Directed by
Mathieu Amalric
Written by
Mathieu Amalric, Philippe Di Folco
Starring
Jeanne Balibar, Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Peirani, Aurore Clément, Grégoire Colin, Fanny Imber, Pierre Michon, Stéphane Roger
Cinematography
Christophe Beaucarne
Runtime
98 min
Country
France
Languages
French, English

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata