IP5: L'île aux pachydermes

A discovery. The disappearance of Jean-Jacques Beineix gave us the opportunity to review some of the films of this French director who leaves behind an undeservedly short filmography. His most famous films were made in the 1980's - 'Diva', 'Betty Blue'. 'IP5: L'ile aux pachydermes' (English title 'IP5: The Island of Pachyderms'), released on screens in 1992, was received with critical disdain. The audiences were more generous, but another event marked the fate of the film, and with it, perhaps, Beineix's career. Yves Montand, the huge actor (and singer, but in this film he does not sing) died of a heart attack a few days after the end of filming, in November 1991. Spectators, perhaps also influenced by press articles, linked the death of this beloved actor the intense stress of the filming. In the movie, Leon Marcel, the old tramp played by Yves Montand, has a similar death. Life and film met once again, in a tragic coincidence.

'IP5' proposes two love stories in 'road movie' packaging. Tony (Olivier Martinez) is a young man from the suburbs who deals with street art and petty theft together with his friend Jockey, a pre-teen boy of African descent. When the boy's father has a medical incident, the nurse who comes to help him is Gloria (Géraldine Pailhas), a beautiful and serious girl with whom Tony falls in love on the spot. She does not seem interested in the advances of the seemingly good-for-nothing young man and she leaves for Toulouse a few days after. The two boys set off in her search, on a journey through the roads and through the forests of France, the stages of the journey being marked by stolen cars. On the way, they meet Leon Marcel (Yves Montand), a mysterious character, half tramp, half magician, and who is himself in search of a woman he broke up with 40 years ago. The three men of different ages will get to know each other, help each other and learn from each other, and the two love stories will end, differently, but in the same geographical place.

To me, this plot seemed well-structured and nicely brought to screen. The film is also beautiful from a visual point of view (cinematography: Jean-François Robin). The comparison with Leos Carax's films (with whom Beineix and Luc Besson are associated as forming the representative trio of the 'cinema du look' current) is obvious. The friendship between the three heroes makes the connection between the traditional French culture and the pop culture of the '90s with rap and street art. For Yves Montand, looking back, the film seems like an artistic testament, but this is just a coincidence of destiny - it seemed more symbolic to me that his meeting with the young actors with whom he collaborates perfectly. What can I say about Jean-Jacques Beineix? His ambitions seemed great. Even the title of the film ('IP5', ie his 5th film) indicates that he was preparing for a long-breath cycle. He directed only one feature film after that, in 2001, and none in the last two decades of his life. Did the tragedy ofYves Montand's death at the end of the filming for 'IP5' mark him so strongly? Or was it about refusing artistic compromises in his relations with producers? We will probably never know, but this film is a testimony to an undeniable talent which, unfortunately, went largely wasted.

"IP5: The Island of Pachyderms" is a highly unconventional road movie that gets it right in everything is set out to be: as the unusual encounter of two criminal youngsters with a crazed/mystical runaway elderly, with both parts helping each other on their life quest, it manages to be a funny, charming, thrilling and dramatic film about the peculiar and apparently random encounters of life where lost souls find one another to fulfill a specific life purpose, whether big or small, and with that unexpected union they're no longer lost in life, love or whatever higher purpose might be. Cinema du look representative Jean-Jacques Beineix ("Diva", "Betty Blue") makes one of his finest films but also the one where he was harshly criticised the most back of its release. Totally unfair and undeserving.

It's so strange that for the few times I heard about the film and its apparent story it always struck me as something dark or violent, and the main curiosity in seeing it was the chance of seeing the great Yves Montand on his final performance - of which French press at the time "blamed it" on the director. It starts out in a very downer manner as we're introduced to the two criminals, Tony (Olivier Martinez), an obsessive graffiti artist and his sidekick, the smart pre-teen Jockey (Sekkou Sall), who deals with an alcoholic father at home.

Between the dark and down bits they face, comes to their lives a young nurse (Géraldine Pailhas), of whom Tony falls in love for the first time yet he keeps being rejected with good reasons, called time and again as an "empty shell"; and the most bizarre encounter of all after robbing a car there's an old man in the backseat, the helpful Leon (Montand) who's on a personal journey walking through the wilderness to find the island of the title. Something special is waiting for him, he's sure, and after helping the younger duo in difficult situations, they follow the old man who might help them out with their wishes: Tony wanting to find the nurse, love of his life; and the kid with seeing mountains and the snow, something he always dreamed.

The greatest appeal of "IP5" is in simply not falling for any kind of cliche or preditable route. The unexpected is most welcome, most fascinating and most intriguing in everything Mr. Beineix carefully puts on the screen - the only small problem relates to leaving Gloria, the nurse, as too much of a background character despite her importance in moving the man alive, but the film is about the trio journey and how they deal with one another despite their different stages of life. One great example about how Beineix destroys what's expected is how the rival gang, who puts Tony in a dangerous mission, never returns once they're presented. 99% of writers/directors would make them return when the journey and the problems were near the end and you'd easily go thinking about how obvious it'd be.

If the majority of films from the cinema du look seem to evoke more style than a relevant substance, "IP5" proves that plenty of depth can be found. It's one of those stories where audiences are challenged and intrigued about the unusual ways of life, the happy accidents that might not be accidents of all, if there's such a thing as fate or destiny, and the forces of universe that set them in motion for better or worse. And we will ever know if Leon/Montand was one of those crazies sent to earth to confuse poor mortals with his wisdom and actions, or if he was actually someone spiritualized enough to be almost like a god who can cure and be near whenever you need it (the second meeting with him, when the youngsters are stealing another car and the cops show up is hilarious). At its core, it reveals that despite what appearances and initial acts from a certain person are, no one is so bad that they can't find a redemption, and no one's so good to be considered a saint. Ultimately, the human quest for something meaningful in their lives, a sense of purpose or the thing that keep us going through the many strange roads of life until we get some enlightenement or succeed with a mission. Universal themes that are relevant, treated with a sense of great realism and some mystic touch.

I absolutely loved everything about this film, can't wait to see it again in years to come. And the acting from everybody, the newcomers and legendary Yves Montand, was simply spectacular. You're easily compelled by their characters, their nature, either helping or sabotaging one another. It's a lot funnier that one would expect, but when it gets to its more serious themes and reflections of life, we find a pulsating heart that has become rare to find in most films and works of art. 10/10.

A boy, a youth and a seemingly crazy old man are on their way to the Pyrrenees. What are they really searching for? Life & Fulfillment, I guess. But Beineix pulls it off without getting pompous. This movie is mixed, both gentle and harsh at the same time. It's a lot more quiet than Beineix's "Betty Blue", without the same desperation - it's more about pent-up feelings and longing.

All the main characters are played well, especially Sall is incredibly good as the kid. That ending in the sunrise at the Pyrrenees is moving. No guarantee that Betty Blue-fans will like this - but it's really worth checking out!

I saw this at the 1991 Seattle film fest and never heard of it being in cinemas in the US. I should think it would do very well even now. Imagine getting the whole graffiti artist, skater crowd to come to see a French film! They would. Even the title would attract a lot of the hip-hop culture, IP5, sounds pretty contemporary to me! Build it and they will indeed come.

Wonderful film: the production design, dialog, the cinematography & casting are all very, very good. Perhaps this film toured the American college film program circuit in 16mm, not sure. This film really needs to be on DVD so that more people can see it. I imagine the politics & money thing are the reasons it didn't make the natural leap from VHS to DVD.

I saw this film years ago when it was first released and fell madly in love with it. Now over 10 years later I just have to say what a beautiful film it is... still.

Watch this film, life really is too short not to.

Why this movie doesn't exist on DVD stuns me, my 9 year old VHS copy is slowly dying out. Yves Montand could not have left a better swan song.

Just beautiful.