|
Directed by: Enki Bilal Starring: Linda Hardy, Thomas Kretschmann (Nazi Commander in "The Pianist"), et al Based on a French comic book trilogy "La trilogie Nikopol", Immortel (ad vitam) leads you into New York City, set in the year 2095. Intermixing of CGI characters with real actors does not help to position this $20 million dollar French effort on the shelves with such titles as Minority Report or The Fifth Element. Sadly, you're reminded of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” when presented with these real character interactions with CGI models, and by overlooking this minor detail you will be able to focus on the story itself. The biggest problem you're faced with is the lack of history as to what motivates the characters. Compressing a comic book into full-feature motion picture demands more than just retelling the story for the fans. Those who hadn't read the comic book trilogy are ignored by the screenwriter. The movie opens with a shot of ancient Egyptian God Horus descending on New York city in a floating pyramid to fulfill a mission which involves rapes and some other rituals which go partly unexplained for the duration of the movie, albeit it's open to interpretation as long as you're able to follow and decode the cryptic exchange between the chess-playing Gods inside the malevolent floating object; or possibly Horus and Nikopol, a newly melted revolutionary acting as the main character, and the unwilling supplier of the penis in these aforementioned series of statutory rapes. The fight between mortality and immortality is the name of the game. As all futuristic flicks go, Immortel goes on to portray future in an Orwellian, pessimistic fashion, touching on everything from cryogenics to population suppression via state police to achieve some eugenics-dependent society. The feel of the movie is best described as a fusion between The Fifth Element, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Æon Flux, where latter just lends the bizarro element as opposed to comic-book palpation. Positive aspect of the film is the lack of the tired cliché in common American action/Sci-Fi movies where audience is treated with minimum of 3 obligatory fight scenes, each one topping the other, until the final scene where grand villain is confronted. Not to say that movie lacks clichés - far from it. The story itself is unorthodox in a sense where rape is not particularly vilified. (Note to all the rape aficionados: there are no violent rape scenes in the movie, but the implication is there. Doing it for the good of mankind or whatever is on Eagle-God’s agenda). Unlike the movie Equilibrium, the city is authentic looking when it comes to overall structure and shapes of buildings, juxtaposed with New-York's modern-day metro grid. Cityscape shots are excellent and painfully inadequate in a sense that they're not extensively explored to give the audience eye-candy, usually expected from futuristic flicks. Failure to cover more aerial shots of the city robs viewer of pre-conceived expectations one might have had going into the theatre. Minor nitpick would probably be the missing Freedom Tower which is planned for construction. Not sure how it escaped the screenwriters. Though it's quite possible that those French are implying that terrorists brought down the second building sometime between 2004 and 2095; who knows? American audience-pandering was omnipresent, but it tried all the wrong things so I'm doubtful the viewers in US will get a kick out of flying cars and eye-lasers used to sculpt an iron leg. Might be good for a chuckle because of the bizarre effects, which I doubt the director had in mind when planning the scene. During the movie, if you catch yourself thinking "What the gently caress is up with the eagle?" means I am not alone in this sentiment. See it for the dark atmospheric vibe and sublime dialogues. Those who attempt to find something deep and philosophical will likely be disappointed as there are not enough facets connecting the scenes in order to make the plot flow from beginning to the end. It is haphazardly edited in regards to transitions, but not in a technical sense. And lastly, the set design was surprisingly excellent in close-up situations. Very retro-looking and cold. Police uniforms looked unusually refined in every detail above the waist. Score wasn't bad, but forgettable for the lack of the better word. Admire the little things and forget the plot if it fails to impress you. Considering the overall budget and the no-name actors, it might be entertaining for those who enjoy Æon Flux-type stories. If only Warchowsky brothers were contacted for some creative input, this movie would have kicked rear end all over the place. Big opportunities were missed in Immortel (ad vitam). Japanese Trailer / Official Site RATING: 3.0 PROS: Poetic and sublime. CONS: The plot is very fragmented, expects the audience to be familiar with the comic book and leaves the viewer hanging. Not enough character development or foreshadowing. CGI/live actor mixing. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314063/ cioxx fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Jul 24, 2004 |
#
?
Jul 24, 2004 03:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 09:54 |
|