Film — Renaissance

Quasi-cyberpunk 2054 Paris is the home to a major biotech concern, Avalon, whose adverts talk of helth, beauty and longevity. Ilona, one of their scientists goes missing, and a hard-bitten cop is put on the case. We find out that Ilona was working on progeria. And the plot unfolds with tiresome predictability from those givens; and with all the old movie clichés about computer file security.

The film is live action, and, apparently, English dialogue (rather than dub), rotoscoped into hard black and white, no greyscale at all in most scenes, and where it is shown, it is background haziness; and colour is restricted to a handful of seconds. The Paris of 2054 is built on the modern one by just painting it on; remodelling Montmartre, raising extra levels on rivetted steel, and a purely rendered version of La Défense (or equivalent), with a vertigo inducing glass office spanning the arch.

The pacing is superb, with almost no fat — perhaps a little needless lingering on the gang-boss' harem, which one can consider as counterweight for a very minimalist handling of the love interest.

In sum, almost as manly as the other French actioner (Bainlieue 13); wonderfully executed; pity about the story.

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