CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (2014)

I sought this film out because of all the accolades Kristen Stewart has received from it.  Finding her little more than a block of wood in anything I've seen her in, imagine my shock to find she's the most riveting thing about this film; you simply can't turn away from the screen when she's on it.  Binoche stars as internationally-renowned stage actress Maria Enders, who arrives in a remote village in the Alps with her personal assistant Valentine (Stewart) to rehearse for the revival of a play she did over twenty years before - back then playing the young ingenue, now in the role of the older woman.  The play brings out dormant emotions in Maria, the characters' relationship even overlapping into her relationship with Valentine, in a wordy film that features some beautifully-written dialogue ... but also an open ending where, I believe, the viewer's supposed to determine what happened.  If that's not your thing you may not like this, but for Stewart's work alone (though all the cast is great) it's for-sure worth seeing. (rated R)  B-