FILM · 2012 · FRANCE
Holy Motors
16 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (16)
- #001
Leos Carax wrote the supermodel role with Kate Moss in mind, as the two were willing to work together on another project that ultimately was not made. During shooting, however, Moss was about to get married and turned down the role, which was eventually given to Eva Mendes.
- #002
Edith Scob, who plays the driver Céline, appeared in the French horror classic Eyes Without a Face (1960), directed by Georges Franju. Franju's cinema is the object of many tributes throughout Holy Motors. The mask Céline wears at the end of the film is a direct reference to Les yeux sans visage.
- #003
It was French director Claire Denis who suggested that Leos Carax cast Kylie Minogue in the film.
- #004
The film's initial concept began with a trend Leos Carax observed at weddings, where stretch limousines were being used more and more. The director was interested in the unwieldiness of the cars. From this came the idea for a film about society's growing digitalization: a science fiction screenplay in which organisms and visible machines share a common excess.
- #005
The film was dedicated to Leos Carax's life partner and the mother of his child, the late Russian actress Yekaterina Golubeva.
- #006
Of the lead role written specifically for Lavant, Carax said: "If Denis had said no, I would have offered the role to Lon Chaney or Chaplin. Or I would have offered it to Peter Lorre or Michel Simon, who are all dead."
- #007
Carax managed to impress potential investors concerned about the film's budget by switching to digital photography, a filmmaking process he normally absolutely did not approve of.
- #008
It was voted the 16th best film of the 21st century in a worldwide critics' poll conducted by the BBC.
- #009
The anthology film Tokyo! (2008) includes a segment by Leos Carax that focuses on the character Merde, also played by Denis Lavant.
- #010
The song playing at the party where Monsieur Oscar picks up his daughter is "Can't Get You Out of My Head" by Kylie Minogue, who later in the film plays Eva Grace (Jean).
- #011
It was Carax's first feature film since 1999.
- #012
Eva Mendes was offered the role after she met Carax at a film festival and they said they wanted to make a film together.
- #013
Inspired by the omnibus Tokyo!, for which he had been commissioned to make a short film, Carax decided to write a predetermined film for Denis Lavant, with whom he works regularly.
- #014
Principal photography took place in Paris. Shooting began in September and ended in November 2011.
- #015
The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
- #016
Kylie Minogue was discovered by Carax after Claire Denis recommended her for a cancelled project.
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