Like Orlesan, actor Val Kilmer filmed his life: Discover his painful documentary on OCS

Rarely if ever has a Hollywood actor been exposed in front of so many cameras. In his documentary, Val, star Val Kilmer makes a review. About his past, his amazing career, and his afflicted present illness. In 2015, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. After a tracheotomy – an intervention that consists of making a hole in the trachea – he lost the use of sound. For him, cinema is now an ancient history.

With the help of Ting Poe and Leo Scott, Val Kilmer portrays his fate through thousands of hours of home video, shot from his childhood to adulthood. The result is a real gold mine for all moviegoers and American star fans. Deprived of vocal strings, he leaves his son, Jack Kilmer, to embody the voice and return to the greatest moments of his life.

The archive shows him in the early days, along with Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn, but also Top Gun on the set with Tom Cruise or Batman Forever. Exclusive moments, I have never seen before. It also confirms his one-year preparation for the role of Jim Morrison in Door Biography, directed by Oliver Stone.

But there is nothing rosy in Hollywood. In his personal library, Val Kilmer also records his greatest disappointments, such as his meeting with protagonist Marlon Brando in the chaotic film “Doctor Moreau Island.” This sequence is also an opportunity to see a fierce debate with the director, John Frankenheimer.

When he finds himself in the present, the actor gets nervous. The scene, difficult to watch, shows him at a fan congress that was forcibly stopped after the star became ill. The viewer then witnesses the damage of his illness, personal and professional damage, but the documentary does not fall into pathos. Without a beacon, Val Kilmer turns his vulnerability into a force.

The feature film presented at the Cannes Film Festival in July 2020 was met with applause from the conquered audience. On the place, Val Kilmer is not. It is his two children, Jack and Mercedes Kilmers, who have inevitably moved on, who respect him. A gesture of love for her father, who was once one of the sexiest characters in Hollywood.

Val Available on OCS and VOD.