Immortel

I've read the comments on this movie, and my opinion is that most commenters did not really get this movie.

This is an Enki Bilal movie, which means it is a Graphic Novel (i deliberately do not use the word "comic book") in cinematic form. If you get the chance to check out some of Bilal's work, you will understand this movie all the better.

The movie is a mix of live action and lots of CGI, which may make it confusing for some at times. If you must, think of it as an animated movie using live actors.

The movie is an audiovisual treat, but, like much of Bilal's work, is heavy on symbolism and portrays a very bleak vision of the future.

If you want to see a mainstream scifi spectacle, don't see this film. If you want to see something that is out of the box, go see it, rent it,or even better, buy it!

As a whole, the movie best compares to Japanese anime, more specific movies such as Ghost in the Shell.

I absolutely adored it. The Baudelaire poetry was an unexpected surprise (in retrospect, however, it should not have been)

As a result of seeing this film, I went out to buy some of Bilal's graphic novels.

If you:

loved the ambiance of The Fifth Element adore the darker side of Japanese anime wanted to walk through the streets in Blade Runner want more out of a movie than simply action love the work of Charles Baudelaire want to see that even Egyptian gods are flawed

See this film!!

Some points of notice:

At times, the amount of visual information is staggering. i had to rewind a couple of times to get everything. It compares to reading the page of a graphic novel a couple of times to get everything.

The mixture of CGI and live actors is strange at first, but you get used to it.

My one negative point about this movie: the Egyptian gods were too static. they should have been a bit more lifelike. As it is, they look like barely animated statues. It adds to the graphic environment, but comes off strange in a movie. I would have liked to see more of them as well.

This is a very stylish and artistic movie, but it doesn't forget to tell a story. It is all done in bleak and washed out colors. It is a poetic movie; while the genre is science fiction, the author obviously could not care less for real science fiction. It's just design material, just as the piece of Egyptian mythology. The story line is straight, and has a style that is a mix between french and Japanese comics. It has the deadly epic seriousness of anime, and the designwork is both kitsch and awesome at the same time, as is customary for the french metal hurlant style. And, most refreshing, there is not a hint of Hollywood in this. So, sit back and let it flow.

I give the movie nine out of ten, but I can't say I feel hungry for more. No, what I'd like to see on the screen is some real science fiction. Not Star Wars crap and not poetic artistry, but the real thing, a modern novel by the likes of Iain M. Banks or Greg Egan adapted for the screen. Sadly enough, sf for the movies is becoming something that is exploited for it's kitschy futuristic themes and it's design and action possibilities, rather than a way to express the true visions the bookshelves are actually overflowing with. But here's still hoping...

Director Enki Bilal is a supremely skilled comic book artist from the same stylistic school as Moebius (who influenced the visual style of Blade Runner and designed part of Alien).

Bilal's comics are invariably sombre, textured, exquisitely drawn worlds with strong internal logic.

"Immortel" is the film adaptation of the "Nikopol" trilogy of comics by Bilal. This trilogy of comics I highly recommend.

The film opens with some lovely CGI sequences: Nice environment and craft - gritty, textured, dystopia, a catchy steam punk take on the Blade Runner aesthetic.

The main characters work well in this setting, especially the fetchingly beautiful Linda Hardy (a former Miss France).

But without warning the quality drops jarringly -- as a host of secondary CGI characters are introduced.

What you thought was a movie, suddenly turns into something resembling a video game cut-scene: The amateurishly animated, dated CGI characters would be booed out of Tron. The voice acting is awful. The lip sync a joke.

To really grind it in, the CGI actors get lots of close-ups. Painful.

The plot progresses through a series of surreal events in a New York of the future. If you haven't read the comic, things won't make too much sense on first viewing.

Stick around for the ride, for there are a number of very successful scenes in this movie -- a hauntingly beautiful museum sequence, some fine sci-fi thrills, a gritty symbolist apartment in which a dreamlike love story takes place. Atmospheric music, too.

The really good stuff is invariably bookended by poor scenes, including the worst CGI explosions you'll ever see, awful dialog, and tinny sound effects that suddenly intrude on an otherwise coherent sound design.

This has got to be most uneven movie I've ever seen.

But give the comic books a go.

This movie combines dreamlike landscapes, fascinating characters, a haunting soundtrack, and commanding performances by its three main human actors into a delight for the senses. I will go along with those who say the plot is a bit weak and spotty in places, but the film is still a masterpiece. I had never even heard of Nikopol, or didn't remember it anyway. I knew Enki Bilal was familiar, but had to go look it up to see where I knew the name. Turns out I had seen his stuff in Heavy Metal magazine back when it came out in the late 70s. Since I loved the art and stories of that mag, it didn't surprise me that I was drawn to this movie after stumbling upon it accidentally on sat TV. It has a bleak yet sublime futuristic look and feel to it that makes "Blade Runner" seem hum-drum. Linda Hardy is disturbed and disturbing, enigmatic and beautiful, and very, very sexy. Kretschmann is irreverent, witty, and funny. The graphics characters also have their own personalities and fit in wonderfully, I think. I agree with others who have remarked that the point here is art, not slavish duplication of reality. Both the "real" and the Eugenics-created Dayaks are masterfully done and equally creepy. Really a pleasure to watch.

I usually just stick to voting or info-retrieving when I visit IMDb. But my amazement at the low rating that this movie received is making me type these words down. I'm not much of a sci-fi fan but this movie yesterday at the art-house theatre and loved it. Powerful and convincing main characters (I'm not acquainted with the comic book series which are supposed to be better) , great characters (nice to see Charlotte Rampling doing something different), thin story lines but you know what you want to see: Egyptians Gods excerting their will in the not so distant horrid future. Simply loved Horus. Didn't experience a dull moment. And thus: 9 out of 10, partly to counterbalance the low ratings.

Go see it.