The thirteenth film by the prolific Quentin Dupieux, whose filmmaking career has now far surpassed that of the musician (known as Mr. Oizo) in scope. Daaaaaali! is a surreal love letter-style tribute to the crazy personality of the legendary painter, "too big for one man," and therefore embodied by several actors.

Four actors (Gilles Lellouche, Édouard Baer, ​​Jonathan Cohen and Pio Marmaï) – and even a little more – are having a wonderful time. With loud rolling "r"s, bombastic intonations, and perfectly waxed pointed mustaches, Quentin Dupieux seems to have organized a lighthearted competition for the best Salvador Dali impersonation (and while all are fantastic, Édouard Baer wins hands down). As its title suggests, where the repetition of the first vowel also plays on this exaggeration, Daaaaaali! is as much a film about the figure of Salvador Dali than on the media persona that the painter created for himself.

The message is clear: the artist, who only ever refers to himself in the third person, agrees to an interview with a young journalist (Anaïs Demoustier) only on the condition that it takes place in the presence of "a big, an enormous camera." The man might seem unlikeable, but the performance is so overtly outrageous that he becomes, on the contrary, endearing and very funny. Dupieux's Dali playfully reminds us that he is "anything but ordinary," as if the television personality familiar to all French people were the latest creation of the surrealist master. 

Obviously, the film is a tribute from the student to his teacher, because since his first feature film Nonfilm (2001), Quentin Dupieux is obviously part of the legacy of the surreal and playful works, inspired like dreams, of Salvador Dali. And if he is a comedy director, it is also because he does not forget that in the eyes of children who, like him, were born in the mid-1970s, Dali was also that comic character seen in TV commercials.

 However, it's difficult to place this anti-biopic in time, except perhaps in the vague 1960s or 1970s, a fairytale era of cinema—once upon a time, during Salvador Dalí's lifetime. Thus, the various actors portray the artist at different periods, all simultaneously, as if time had melted away, like the melting clocks of the Persistence of memory, certainly the painter's most famous work.

This isn't about recounting Dali's life, nor even about exploring his works (we only glimpse some of them), but about resurrecting his generous personality by offering—as Quentin Dupieux has always done—brilliant roles to a host of talented actors portraying the painter, as well as numerous delightful supporting characters. All of this is accompanied by a captivating score by former Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter. In short, a true cinematic dream, anything but ordinary. 

Daaaaaali! by Quentin Dupieux

Released in theaters on February 7th