aka Immortal

Director/writer: Enki Bilal | Rated: R (nudity) | Review date: 7-Feb-2010

Immortal takes place in a futuristic version of New York City, more specifically in the year 2095. The bizarre appearance of a floating Pyramid comes out of nowhere and hovers mysteriously over the city. It’s inhabitants are ancient Egyptian gods, one of which is Horus. Horus is sent down to the city in order to seek a host human body and mate with a chosen human, and he only has 7 days to do so.

In the city resides a mysterious young woman named Jill (Linda Hardy) with white skin and blue hair and tears. Jill has next to no memory, other than that of her relationship with an equally mysterious masked man named John (Frédéric Pierrot). Jill’s superhuman abilities are as intriguing as her appearance. Soon enough Jill catches the attention of Dr. Elma Turner (Charlotte Rampling) and winds up being her professional guinea pig. Meanwhile, Horus claims the body of prisoner Nikopol (Thomas Kretschmann) after a mishap in the prison facility that caused many prisoner vessels to fall from the facility.

The story is based on the comics also written by director Enki Bilal. The tale is a fresh and intriguing one, especially for a science fiction piece. I found the story to be fascinating and full of many interesting characters and surprises. Though the story plays out a bit slow at times, the dramatic scenarios are well acted and provoke a lot of thought. By far the standout for me was the character of Jill. Her unique appearance and strange abilities made me feel drawn to her and wish that we were given more answers about her origins. The other characters were equally interesting and likewise were presented with only hints of their stories.

The film is full of stunning visuals. The live action actors are thrown in with full-blown animated characters which made for a strange but unique combination. While the animation was a stark contrast to the human characters, I believe it was intentionally done that to present the imaginative and futuristic world in a fresh and singular manner. While I have to admit that I would have preferred a few more of the humanoid characters to have been portrayed by live actors, I can’t argue against the films originality and experimental nature.

The word “unique” really is the most fitting word I can think of with this film. Being a science fiction film, it surprised me with its originality. The makeup and effects on the live actors was really beautiful and the almost dreamworld that is the futuristic New York City were a treat to the eyes. The mythology behind the story was captivating and kept me wanting more the whole way through. As I’ve mentioned, the several angles of the story simply didn’t allow for each character’s story to be told completely but still allowed for strong use of the imagination. Though the film didn’t contain a large amount of action sequences (which is refreshing for a science fiction film), the diverse characters, gorgeous visuals, and strong mythology carry this film and make it one to remember.

DVD at Amazon | IMDb/trailers

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