Yesterdays Movies on Tuesday: Chrysalis 2007
During the last several weeks, I've been looking for new science fiction films that I've never seen before. As a huge scifi fan, I wanted to find a different kind of scifi film instead of the usual space opera's, television dramas, etc. When looking back as some of my more favorite SF films, I think of films like Blade Runner and Logan's Run - futuristic action thrillers. Blade Runner in particular has a fantastic style which can be describe as Cyberpunk or Science Fiction Noir.
From Wikipedia.org:
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life".
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation.
Blade Runner is usually the example that accompanies these terms, so in that frame of mind I started looking for something that takes place in some sort of Cyberpunk style world - I went looking on Netflix for that film, whatever it may be.
I came across this film, a French science fiction called Chrysalis. Chrysalis is a film that was part of a trend in French science fiction following another Cyberpunk style film called Immortal, which is a movie that I'll be watching very soon. Besides the style of movie, the other thing that attracted me to Crysalis was Melanie Thierry who's a very beautiful French actress that was recently in a SF film called Babylon AD starring Vin Diesel - a film that isn't particularly awful but also isn't by any means a good movie. Thierry, however, introduced herself to me for the first time in that film, so knowing she was in Chrysalis was a plus because I find her to be very attractive. Sure, that has nothing to do with the performance of an actress but it doesn't hurt especially for a guy who loves good looking women.
"In 2025 in Paris, police lieutenant David Hoffman investigates the circumstances behind the body of a young girl named Manon, who was resurrected after a car crash and now has scars around her eyes. Hoffman finds a link between the murderer and smuggler Dimitri Nicolov, who is blamed by the lieutenant for the death of Hoffman's wife. Hoffman's investigation leads him to a state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinic whose goal is to go beyond skin and flesh to shape memory and identity." [IMDB] Directed by first time director Julien Leclercq, Chrysalis stars Albert Dupontel as David Hoffman, Marie Guillard as Marie Becker, Marthe Keller as Professor Brugen, Melanie Thierry as Manon and Alain Figlarz as Dimitri Nicolov.
It should be noted that this is a foreign language film (French) so be prepared to read subtitles.
If your like me and your looking for something different than the usual science fiction type film, Chrysalis is definitely a movie I think you should look into. This is, however, a movie about style more than story. Without going into too much plot detail, interesting as the plot is, the exposition offered is very confusing and convoluted which has nothing to do with the fact I was reading from subtitles. In someways, subtitles could take the film out of its own context, but in the case of Chrysalis - the movie simply doesn't make that much sense to begin with. Even so, this movie is worth seeing for the style and direction alone. Director Julien Leclercq brings a style that's set in a familiar Paris but also uses technology to advantage giving the film an overall futuristic feeling while keeping the feeling of today's world intact - in short; top notch visual effects and designs. Leclercq also brings a fresh take on directing style, a take we don't see in American cinema. He takes risks as a director and why not, he's not trying to create a film for a huge blockbuster audience which is a reason why I'm starting to admire foreign films more and more. They're still making movies for the sake of art and creativity - not because they think they can make money with it. Sometimes it works out that way, for example Taken with Liam Neeson. Although not a foreign language film, it had no financing from any US major which makes it a foreign film because it was produced by a European company.
Although Chrysalis doesn't have all that much to offer in story, it does have some great hand to hand fighting and violence. This is Jason Bourne 25 years from now except with no shakey cam and the ability to actually see the fighting (I shouldn't say that about Bourne because I love those films). With its violence comes a lot of fantastic emotion - I give total kudos to the actors for the physicality and the emotion they portray. I love it when characters show emotion because of certain circumstances - Marie Guillard's character in particular.
Chrysalis is definitely not for everyone, but SF fans and those who enjoy studying different forms of filmmaking will appreciate what the French has to offer. Don't expect an in-depth story but do expect well done visual effects and a directing style that we don't see everyday. The style alone is worth seeing this film. Chrysalis is definitely a film I recommend for movie fans.
-Phil
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