Lux Æterna

Lux Æterna drops you onto a cramped film set where two leading ladies, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Béatrice Dalle, confront the mythology that surrounds their careers. The scene shifts from casual conversation about makeup and scheduling to a hyper stylized procession of witchcraft imagery, as the women riff on cinema itself, metal and magic, and the pressure of being watched. On the surface it is a wacky two hander about aging star power, but Gaspar Noé piles on feverish tableaux, sly humor, and alarming visuals that blur the line between performance and possession. There are no clean answers, only a mood that coils and erupts as the crew looks on. There are moments of humor, unsettling rhythm, and rapid cuts that draw attention to the act of watching as much as the story being told.

Directed by Gaspar Noé, Lux Æterna arrived in 2020 as an experimental piece. It isn't based on a book or traditional screenplay, but a self contained meditation on performance and cinema staged on a single set with a saturated look.

Box office was modest with a worldwide gross around three hundred twenty-three thousand dollars, reflecting a limited release and a cult audience rather than a mainstream blockbuster. The film circulated mainly in art houses and festival circuits.

Awards and nominations were scarce for Lux Æterna. The film did not pick up major prizes, and its reputation rests more on the provocative reception and Noe's audacious approach than on awards recognition. Some reviewers noted the performances of Gainsbourg and Dalle as the film's strongest element.

Reception divided critics and audiences, with many praising the film's visceral energy and daring visuals, while others felt it overdoes its own gimmick. Thematically, it probes the power of art, the gaze, and the magical charge of cinema itself, asking whether movie magic can endure under the set's glare.