La Femme invisible: A vanishing act that works on its own terms

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for silent-era oddities and stage-magic-turned-film, you will probably get a kick out of La Femme invisible. If you need tight pacing or character motivations that make total sense, you might find yourself staring at the screen in confusion. It is short, it is weird, and it feels like a fever dream that someone decided to film on a Tuesday.

The premise is simple enough. A girl wants to marry, her parents say no, and her lover decides the best way to handle the in-laws is a bit of theatrics. They head to a seance, and she just... disappears. Poof. Gone.

There is something inherently funny about the parents' reactions. They are looking around the room like they misplaced their keys rather than their daughter. It is that specific kind of 1930s-era acting where surprise is conveyed by holding your hands up near your ears and spinning in a slow circle. It made me laugh, maybe more than the director intended.

The pacing is a bit of a mess, honestly. One minute they are bickering about marriage contracts, and the next we are neck-deep in spooky parlour tricks. The transition felt like a gear slipping in a car engine. It grinds a little before it catches.

I found myself comparing the vibe to The Secret Formula, though this film is far less interested in being cryptic and much more interested in just being a silly romantic escape. It does not have the weight of something like Murder!, but that is fine. Not every movie needs to carry the weight of the world.

The "Wait, what?" moments

• The seance scene lingers on the smoke effects for way too long. I think the projectionist might have fallen asleep.
• The wardrobe choices in the background are bizarrely bright for a scene about a vanishing act.
• There is a moment where the lover just smiles at the camera, and it is aggressively charming in a way that feels dated.

It is not a masterpiece. It is barely even a cohesive story by modern standards. But there is a charm to it, like an old postcard you find in a dusty book. You don't know exactly why it was kept, but you are glad someone held onto it.

I am still not sure if the mother actually cared that her daughter vanished, or if she was just annoyed about the upholstery. Either way, it is a fun watch if you have forty minutes to kill and a high tolerance for flimsy, delightful nonsense. 👻