Immortal
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Movie Reviews of Immortal
Movie Review: (3.5 STARS) French Sci-Fi Film from a Visual Genius
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me tell you about the director first. Enki Bilal, born in Yugoslavia, moved to France when he was 10, and has become one of the most influential comic book artist in France since around 1980. His works include 'Nikopol Trilogy,' and this French film 'Immortal' (his third entry as film director) is based on the first two books of the series.
I said this because the merit of 'Immortal' lies all in its visual imaginations. The film's story with many characters is very confusing, revealing its origin. The film is visually interesting for it was shot against the background of green-colored screen, on which the buildings or the landscapes of the city is digitally painted. The method is similar to that of 'Sky Captain', but the effects are quite different as I explain later.
[THE STORY] is complicated, and the film refuses to explain some part of it. 'Immortal' is set in the year of 2095, NEw York City, where cars are flying between the skyscrapers, but one strange thing is floating on the air -- that's a pyramid, out of which a naked man with a bird's head emerges. His name is Horus, a convicted deity who is given seven days to do something on Earth, borrowing the body of a convicted human Nikopol.
The nature of the crime of Nikopol (played by Thomas Kretschmann, 'The Pianist') is only vaguely suggested, but anyway Horus possesses his body, and controls him as he wishes. Then, his purpose will be clear when Nikopol/Horus approaches to a mysterious woman Jill (former Miss France Linda Hardy), whose skin is all white and whose blood is blue.
Kretschmann, Hardy, and Charlotte Rampling (as Jill's doctor) appear as live-action actors while most of the other characters are created with CGIs by a French studio. The CGI-created characters look like those you have seen in the film version of 'Final Fantasy' and in this sense 'Immortal' is more ambitious than 'Sky Captain.' Interesting thing is one of the CGI characters (Rampling's estranged husband) is played by uncredited Jean-Louis Trintignant (voice only) who had appeared Enki Bilal's first film 'Bunker Palace Hôtel.'
[VISUALS] I like the visual imagination of 'Immortal,' but many fans would point out, quite rightly, that the future world of 'Immortal,' impressive as it is on its own way, are not as original as it looks. You remember classic 'Blade Runner' 'The Fifth Element' and one Japanese genius Otomo. To be fair, as I wrote before, Enki Bilal's original comics predate them (the first Nikopol comic was published in 1980), but still complaints are understandable.
But if the film is flawed (and I think it is), that is because of the visual itself, I mean, the CGI parts. To be honest, the CGI-drawn characters (of a greedy senator, a detective, a big company executive, etc.) are all poorly done, and their bodily or facial movements are unnatural and awkward. I am really afraid that they are giving serious damages to the whole film.
But as you will see, the talent of Enki Bilal is undeniable, and his vision is presented effectively with the other-worldly but retrospective descritions of the city of New York in 2095, which is beautifully drawn with blue and grey (red is seldom seen). Far from perfect, but the picture is worth seeing.
Movie Review: THE CONVENTION OF GAMES
Summary: 4 Stars
STYLE! STYLE!! STYLE!!! - if you're looking for a deck stacked with nothing but spades - then IMMORTAL is for you. Bold, brashy, painted wall to wall with ideas, effects and art IMMORTAL is one of those rare films that manages to get so much right, that any and all flaws are easily ignored, missed or left to slide.
While not a perfect film - it does deliver. As with most sci-fi / fasntasy films that deal with the future we often have only two options: CLEAN or DIRTY (or to put a more intellectual spin on it: UPTOPIA or DYSTOPIA) and IMMORTAL goes for the dirty, sometimes dank but unlike, say BLADE RUNNER - not the dark. The film leans more towards (and often ends up in bed with) THE FIFTH ELEMENT - and there perhaps lies its greatest flaw. While not a lift from the film - there are a number of similar themes and ideas that intrude on the story. Super-duper female. Average kind of guy - flying cars, superpowers, Gods and god-like problems abound right up until the end (there's even a MATRIX moment with BLUE and RED pills). There's also a strong vibe from a little seen film called UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD - while that film does not have anything near the kind of story that IMMORTAL does - there seems to be a ghost of that tone here as well. This is not a bad thing.
The story is at once complex and yet very direct. Things move from one point to the next in a pretty linear fashion. Everything happens over the course of seven days - but the back story has been going on since time began. But not everything is explained to you. There are moments where you'll have to make up your own mind and come up with your own conclusions as to what is really going on. I hesitate to give anything away because it's a film best watched cold (and while I've compared the film to THE FIFTH ELEMENT don't let that blind you to IMMORTAL).
The film mixes and matches computer antimated characters and live actors to great effect. While you never truly forget that the animated players are anything but computer generated - they do react and act well enough to draw you into the world. It's great work both big and small.
IMMORTAL is not for everyone. But for those that have loved this style of story telling and this style of art then IMMORTAL is a must have for any collection.
Movie Review: Not a classic, but fun to watch if you're forgiving
Summary: 4 Stars
This film will probably only please sci-fi fans, and that only if they're willing to put up with the many inconsistencies Immortal has to offer. The dialogue is awkward, sometimes nonsensical; the only native English speaker in the small cast of real actors is Rampling, and even some of her lines seem stilted and unnatural. The rest of the cast are CGI characters, and that is obvious from the stiff movements and inability of their lips to keep up with the dialogue. The plot is not fleshed out fully, and at the end of the movie there are a lot of unexplained loose ends.
OK, so having said all that, I gave Immortal 4 stars out of 5. Why? The film has an almost magical, hypnotic effect (at least on me). The background shots of New York in 2095 are wonderful, and the CGI characters are very well done (if not quite perfect). The unnatural dialogue and obviously CGI characters lend an artistic and dream-like quality to the film; in other words, even the film's inadequacies contribute to its overall other-wordliness. It's a haunting vision of a bizarre future, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it (several times).
One complaint I have about this release is this: while the film has been released in English, there are several places where two different languages are spoken, but with no English subtitles. There are several exchanges between the various Egyptian gods, apparently in some ancient Egyptian language (?), and having seen the film originally on TPS Star, I remember French subtitles were provided. Not so on this DVD. As a result, we miss dialogue between the gods (and between Horus and the Dayak) that is relevant to the plot -- all we hear is gibberish. Also, at the end, Jill quotes Baudelaire in French, with no subtitles for those us not fluent en francais. Nikopol also quotes Baudelaire, but has the courtesy to do it in English translation. This is my main beef with this DVD. Otherwise, it's a beautiful and ambitious movie if you're able to look past its deficiencies.
Movie Review: Why Does Horus Suddenly Appear?
Summary: 4 Stars
The Good Things
*Very excellent special effects. Visual imagery is so spectacular throughout the film that it is hardly ever dull (even though there's no real action to it).
*Good filming style with lots of vivid imagery.
*Excellent production design. Lots of funky sets, costumes, props, and loads of really cool flying cars.
*Fascinating characters. Lots of emotion; good acting and pretty good writing.
*Very interesting concepts throughout. Some content concerning eugenics. Some parts seem to question the definition of humanity.
*Good music.
The Bad Things
*Rather strange, somewhat confusing story. Definately warrants multiple viewings, however.
*Gets a little slow at some parts.
*Not for kids or the extremely squeamish; contains bloody violence, swearing, nudity, and sex.
The Questionable Things
*I don't get why so many characters were completely computer-generated; it seemed to make everything look more fake and confusing.
Easily comparable to "The Fifth Element," but I consider this to be a little superior in many ways. "Immortal" is what science fiction should be about; intriguing visions of the future and of other worlds. It's also got some deep content concerning the nature of humanity. The storyline suffers from being a little too strange, confusing, and slow at parts, but I was very pleased with the visuals and the emotions of the characters. If you're interested in good sci-fi, I'd reccomend at least renting this.
The DVD has excellent video and sound quality (the video is just a little grainy, but it adds to the overall grittiness of the film). It includes a thirty-minute making-of feature and a couple of trailers. The copy I have came in an awesome metal steelbook case.
If this review has not been helpful, let me know how I can improve for the future.
Movie Review: Steampunk must-see; beautiful, flawed, nostalgic sci fi.
Summary: 4 Stars
This gorgeous film is an artful pastiche of homage and innovation that won't fail to delight sci-fi, cyberpunk, and perhaps most especially steampunk fans equally - as long as they're also fans of French surrealist film noir (cf. City of Lost Children, Delicatessan, Diva) and Myst-y games. Siobhan said, five minutes into the film, that she was waiting for the "Start Game" button to appear, and that's not going to be an uncommon reaction for gamers. It looks like a game, although the animation falls well below the standards set by "Final Fantasy." The narrative makes about as much sense as a Cirque de Soleil performance of a Sam Beckett play directed by Carlos Castaneda, and is equally beautiful and lyrical (and baffling and laughable), all at once). While it might not be perfectly coherent or possessed of a hermetically sealed plotline, that won't bother anyone who can roll with the postmodern punches (and the distinctly French attitude toward rape, which is viewed in the film a somewhat impolite imposition and cause for mild chagrin, but not as a traumatizing act of violence). The rape theme will startle viewers who 1) haven't read enough mythology to be hip to the fact that for gods of antiquity, a tendency to rape human women is kind of a characteristic feature of the type, and 2) don't remember American film of the 1970s, when rape victims often spontaneously lapse into a Stockholm-Syndromesque state of infatuated love with their rapist (cf. Hospital, Manhunter, Saturday Night Fever, etc.). At any rate, it's probably best not to pay too much attention to the behavioral heuristics of ANY of the characters for the reasons cited previously (re: French surrealism, although we could probably just stop at "French"). I recommend it, absolutely unequivocally - because of its imperfections, not just in spite of them.