What initially interested me the most about Assayas' style in Clouds of Sils Maria is how he so easily captures the intricacies and simple delights of human contact while still working within the framework of a film that is, at its core, a surrealist-tinged examination of the interaction of art and reality. Maria's gracious smile to her loathed ex-lover, Valentine's wisecracks, and the young Jo-Anne's sudden insidiousness to an actress she has admired for so long (or so she says) all give extra layers of humanity to a film that already taps into universal expressions of desire, jealousy, and grief.
Clouds of Sils Maria’s matter-of-fact treatment of technology is wonderful. Characters are on their phones frequently, yet Clouds never seems critical of this -- just wholly accepting of the integral role technology plays in business and communication in a modern world. I was so surprised when I found out Assayas was nearing his 60s at the time of filming, because one would be pretty hard-pressed to find a film with smartphones, social media, and other 21st century technological staples integrated into the narrative that doesn't treat these concepts as world-ending brain-drains. To entirely ignore the positive role our smartphones play in our life and how it plays into our understanding of the world around us is just straight-up unrealistic. Here, communication on smartphones actually enhances the plot and sometimes character dynamics as well -- Maria's reactions to Jo-Anne are initially influenced by her internet searches, for example.
Assayas' pacing is slow but never seems overly languid. Instead, it feels like the story is naturally progressing at its own rate, allowing us to breathe with the characters in an almost slice-of-life-like manner. A lot of abstract-leaning movies about life and art can feel more like a puzzle to be put together or are otherwise too formally complicated to be emotionally invested in. Assayas has integrated in Clouds of Sils Maria an element that a lot of similar films are missing -- a truly human touch amidst the heavy themes and abstractions.