The Second Act

Australian Premiere

“There's no shortage of hilarious surprises in a work perfectly crafted by its inventive creator.” – Cineuropa

“There’s perhaps nothing Dupieux can’t do at this point.” – The Hollywood Reporter

The court jester of French absurdist comedies – and DJ by night under Mr. Oizo – Quentin Dupieux is back with a meta-textual piece about cinema itself that doesn’t just break the fourth wall, it takes a sledgehammer to it.

Florence (Léa Seydoux) is madly in love with David (Louis Garrel) and wants to introduce him to her father, Guillaume (Vincent Lindon). But David is put off by Florence’s neediness, so he decides to try and palm off Florence to his friend Willy (Raphaël Quenard) instead.

That’s the story. Or is it? Within the first few minutes of the film, we learn that Florence, David, Guillaume and Willy (in the capable hands of an A-level French cast) are all actors in a movie-within-the-movie making a cheesy romantic film that they can’t stop complaining about. From here, Dupieux pokes fun at his industry and nothing is off limits – from cancel culture to #MeToo, from artificial intelligence to selling out for Hollywood.

Festivals & Awards
Cannes Film Festival 2024 – Opening Night Film
Splat!FilmFest – International Fantastic Film Festival 2024
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2025

Preceded by Bobblehead (15 mins)