Chrysalis

All connoisseurs and other snobs know that between 1960 and 1980 French cinema was miles ahead of Hollywood. Directors like Melville knew that they could not compete on special effects etcetera because of the smaller budgets. They took the only possible course: do what Hollywood doesn't dare to do. Chrysalis breaks the Hollywood conventions as well and still stands firm in the French tradition. The pale colours remind us of classics like Le Samourai; the Hoffmann character could have been played by Alain Delon in his heydays. Dialogues are minimalistic and therefor highly effective. The two story lines first are independent and gradually merge. Montage between the two is brilliant; every scene makes you longing for the next one. Only halfway the meaning of the opening scene is partly revealed; only near the end you will understand it fully. So some patience and a bigger attention span than average is demanded - and rewarded. The movie has two weak points. First of all there is the plot. Probably I am not fair, but I find it hard to accept the plots of Robocop and Terminator as well. Never will movies like that get more than 8 stars. Second I find the Hoffmann character not that convincing anymore after his "accident". Don't take my criticism too hard. Deviating from the Hollywood norm involves risks so should be praised. Chrysalis is highly entertaining and intriguing, unless you prefer the standard, brainless and predictable stuff. And never I have seen such cold scenery.

This film, while not Oscar material, is a very solid sci-fi/crime thriller. It may seem to weaken itself slightly because it never really sets foot solidly in either camp but instead treads the line carefully between a quite plausible sci-fi plot and a crime/action story. Nonetheless, it is several cuts above the normal indy fare and rises even above some of Hollywood's efforts.

It has fine acting, outstanding sets, great action sequences and editing. The dualistic nature of the plot is well conceived and revealed sparingly; there are some nice twists and surprises along the route and it never bogs down. (Of course, for myself, I would have been content spending the entire 94 minutes happily watching only Mélanie Thierry's face but that's just me... ;-)

Seriously, give it a spin - you won't consider it a wasted 90 minutes if you like crime/sci-fi and great art direction in an intimate setting without loads of CGI; just be aware it's not a major undertaking like the Terminator or Matrix series - but if you don't need quite that much excitement to be entertained - it's very satisfying .

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

I have seen at a week distance two films describing Paris in the 2020s - 'La Jetee' by Chris Marker and 'Chrysalis'. They were made at more than four decades distance in time, and yet they have many similar lines bringing up troubling visions of the future of the vary familiar and warm city that is Paris.

Same as 'La Jetee', 'Chrysalis' is a very stylish film, with striking visuals. All is filmed in blue metallic light, which creates a artificial, cold, robotic atmosphere for a sci-fi and cop story which is a combination of some older (tough cop with young female partner as in 'Dernier domicile connu') and newer themes (mind control, human traffic). The principal problem is that the story is confusing, and even when the two parallel threads converged not all the details come clear.

Some good acting (especially Albert Dupontel in the lead role) and well filmed fights choreography cannot save the film, which remains a too dry exercise, with too much style and too little substance, and failing to create emotion.

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.