Immortal (Ad Vitam): Rediscovered this film after 20 years. A fascinating dystopian cyberpunk film…and quite possibly the strangest one I’ve ever seen.
Immortal (Ad Vitam): Rediscovered this film after 20 years. A fascinating dystopian cyberpunk film…and quite possibly the strangest one I’ve ever seen.
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Immortal (Ad Vitam) is an English language, French live-action film that was released in 2004. It was directed by Enki Bilal and is loosely based on his graphic novel The Carnival Of Immortals. It stars French model Linda Hardy as Jill, German actor Thomas Kretschmann (Wanted, The Pianist) as Nikopol, and English actress Charlotte Rampling (Orca) as Elma. The film was simultaneously filmed in French and English (one take in each language) so it could be released to a broader audience without the need to do voice dubbing afterwards. Immortal is one of the first films to be filmed with full blue screen. This means that all the outside environments, cars, and some people were digitally rendered. These renders were done by Quantic Dream, makers of the video game Heavy Rain. The entire film was a huge undertaking for a novice director and a digital company that had little experience at the time.
TThe film overall wasn’t considered a commercial success, but it has a devoted following for those who’ve followed the novels. The mix of CGI and live action can be a bit jarring and it depicts elements of assault which some may find difficult to watch. In addition, the overall plot needs a little more fleshing out for general understanding of what is happening in the world. That being said, it is definitely worth a watch for any Sci-Fi fan. I saw this film for the first time 20 years ago and it stuck with me. I would describe it like an indie Fifth Element that could have benefitted from a longer run time to flesh things out more.