Chrysalis

This is a cross between sci-fi,Philip K. Dick style,hard edged cop thriller,and some jiu jitsu martial arts thrown in as well.It is really brutal at times,but not gratuitous.The lighting is cold throughout,but it's never really dark.The colour seems washed out,and added to the lighting it's almost black and white at times.But I really liked the style.Despite being set in Paris,almost every scene is somewhat claustrophobic.There is rarely a view of the Eiffel Tower,and very few,if any,crowd scenes.Most scenes are in the police staion,underground,science lab,or apartment blocks.

This is an intense psychological film that demands your attention,and you will be rewarded if you stick with it.

This could have been an outstanding science fiction/crime thriller. But there was simply no passion here. Everyone seemed dispassionate about any and every thing that was happening or had happened or toward each other. Editing was another problem. There were several disconnects and very little seemed to add or subtract from the story. Even by the time everything comes together, there was still no desire to care about any of these characters or the idea behind the movie.

In short, the movie came across like a dry reenactment of a crime with far reaching repercussions. Remember how interesting U.S. History was in High School? Well, there you go.

Great story. Positively wooden acting. But by the end of the film, who cares? Actually, this would have made for an excellent Japanese anime. At least they would have gotten you to care about these people.

This is a stylish french sci-fi movie. After a murder, a policemen has his memory where his wife gets killed. Unfortunately another investigation leads him to the same killer. Another parallel story is one of a young women you is locked in a hospital and gets some odd treatment to get some memory erased.

The story has some rough edges although the global plot is quite interesting. Most actors do a great job, although some are a little too frenchy. The most interesting part of the movie is the directions and all details. Fighting scenes are gripping, and the futuristic details give a great sense of realism. You really buy his 2025 Paris, the futuristic operations at the hospital.

Despite details of the story, this movie is very entertaining and has style.

Julien Leclercq.....how do I buy a copy of this wonderful film on DVD in the USA??? I saw your film, Chrysalis, at AFI/Dallas. I admire it tremendously for so many aspects of the work. I am a novice film maker and wish to study all that you have incorporated into the creation of this project. It is clearly a construction of what you appreciate so much about American style action films. But you have achieved all this and even more in this effort. And so very nicely hidden is this process, so as not to be too obvious. Beautiful, stylized, intriguing, gripping. The characters are fully developed and acted to a fine manner. Oh, but for a better ending...Chrysalis would be an instant cult classic and must have for all lovers of this genre, as well as many others. I would give it: A+ Directing, A+ Cinematography, A Ensemble Acting, A Sound Design, A+ Editing, C+ Script, (but only for the ending). In all I would hope to accomplish but a very small fraction of what you have created in this fine and marvelous effort. Most respectful congratulations to you. I will look forward to seeing many more Julien Leclercq films to come. (If I am to be allowed to buy them in the USA!) Regrds, JB

This one of the bluest movies I've ever seen. You thought "Sleepy Hollow" was blue? You thought Soderbergh's "Solaris" was blue? Well hang on to your bonnet because this movie makes them look like "The Wizard of Oz". If you're looking for a blue movie then look no further than "Chrysalis".

Set in a tense future, Paris in the year 2025, this film is very stylish and gritty. The director sought to create a future vision that's not quite dystopian yet definitely not full of rainbows & unicorns. It is a very claustrophobic, psychological story that progresses on 2 levels. The first level is the straightforward action/thriller/scifi part: a rogue Paris cop is hunting down the killer who ruined his life. The 2nd level is a very human (yet equally tense) story about a woman who is reconnecting with her daughter after a terrible accident which caused the girl to have amnesia. Confounding at first, it is interesting to see how these two seemingly distant stories come together.

A well-written story and good script give all the actors a chance to shine as each plays the role of a deeply complex character. We have the main hero, a tough guy of few words, who is coming to grips with his ruined life as well as the realization of what a monster he has become. His female partner is a rookie, entering the story as a naïve kid who got the job only because her uncle is a big honcho, but ultimately she develops a forceful personality of her own. The mother in the 2nd story is very cryptic, and you don't know what drives her, or if she's a good person or bad person, until the end. And the daughter whose confused & innocent portrayal of a person struggling to regain her identity had me riveted in every scene.

So, yes, you could approach this as a straightforward scifi-action-crime-thriller, or you could also see it as a story of people finding--or rather, choosing--whom they want to be. And there you have it, all wrapped up in a nice, stylish ribbon. A blue ribbon of course.