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Immortel (Ad Vitam)
Encyclopedia
Immortal is a 2004 English language, French-produced live-action/animated science fiction film
, directed by Enki Bilal
and loosely based upon his comic book La Foire aux immortels
(The Carnival of Immortals). It is notable as being one of the first major films (along with Casshern and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
) to be shot entirely on a "digital backlot
", blending live actors with computer generated surroundings.
The film takes place in New York City
in the year 2095 where genetically altered humans live side by side with unaltered men and women, and where Central Park
has been mysteriously encased in an "intrusion zone" where people who attempt to enter are instantly killed. A strange pyramid
has appeared over the city; inside, the gods of ancient Egypt
have judged Horus
, one of their fellow gods, to cease his immortality. In the city below, Jill, a young woman with blue hair is arrested. Not completely human, her tissues appear to be no more than a few months old according to an examining physician, although her physical form is already that of an adult. She also possesses a number of secret powers, including one that enables her to procreate with gods, though she knows nothing of this. Horus is given a limited time to interact with the humans of New York and procreate. During his search for a host body, Horus encounters Nikopol, a rebel condemned to 30 years of hibernation who escapes his prison, due to a mechanical accident, one year early. Horus has been unsuccessful in attempting to take over the bodies of other humans; due to an incompatibility with the genetic alterations humans have undergone, the host bodies self-destruct while attempting to accommodate a god. Nikopol's body is acceptable as it has been frozen in prison/storage and not undergone the genetic changes causing the rejections. Horus takes partial control of Nikopol's body and starts looking for a woman he can mate with to provide him a son before his death sentence is carried out. When Horus/Nikopol discovers Jill, they become entangled in a web of murder and intrigue.
The final scene is the only one in which we hear actress Linda Hardy's voice as she recites in her native French the third stanza of Charles Baudelaire
's poem Le Poison, which her character, Jill, has just been reading from the book she holds entitled Les Fleurs Du Mal
or Flowers of Evil.
"Tout cela ne vaut pas le poison qui découle de tes yeux, de tes yeux verts, lacs où mon âme tremble et se voit à l'envers. Mes songes viennent en foule pour se désaltérer à ces gouffres amers."
[English translation: All that is not worth the poison that flows from your eyes, from your green eyes, lakes where my soul trembles and sees itself upside down. My dreams crowd in to slake their thirst in those bitter gulfs.]
Nikopol, who recites Baudelaire's turbulent poetry in other scenes of the movie, provides the final lines of dialogue by completing Jill's recitation in English. "But all that is not worth the prodigy of your saliva, Jill, that bites my soul, and dizzies it, and swirls it down, remorselessly, rolling it, fainting to the underworld."
Also starring: Olivier Achard, Corinne Jaber, Barbara Scaff, Joe Sheridan, Jacquelyn Toman, Jean-Louis Trintignant
.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
, directed by Enki Bilal
Enki Bilal
Enes Bilal is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director.-Biography:Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovak mother and a Bosnian father who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor, he moved to Paris at the age of 9. At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied...
and loosely based upon his comic book La Foire aux immortels
La Foire aux immortels
The Carnival of Immortals is a science fiction graphic novel from 1980 written and illustrated by the Yugoslavian born French cartoonist and storyteller Enki Bilal. It is the first part of the Nikopol Trilogy, followed up by La Femme piège in 1986 and ending with Froid Équateur in 1992...
(The Carnival of Immortals). It is notable as being one of the first major films (along with Casshern and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American pulp adventure science-fiction film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut. The film is set in an alternative 1939 and follows the adventures of Polly Perkins , a newspaper reporter, and Harry Joseph "Joe" Sullivan ,...
) to be shot entirely on a "digital backlot
Digital backlot
Digital backlot is a term used to describe motion picture sets that have neither genuine location shoots nor practical sets on the soundstages; the shooting takes place entirely on a stage with a blank background that will have an artificial environment put in during post-production...
", blending live actors with computer generated surroundings.
Plot
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the year 2095 where genetically altered humans live side by side with unaltered men and women, and where Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
has been mysteriously encased in an "intrusion zone" where people who attempt to enter are instantly killed. A strange pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
has appeared over the city; inside, the gods of ancient Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
have judged Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, one of their fellow gods, to cease his immortality. In the city below, Jill, a young woman with blue hair is arrested. Not completely human, her tissues appear to be no more than a few months old according to an examining physician, although her physical form is already that of an adult. She also possesses a number of secret powers, including one that enables her to procreate with gods, though she knows nothing of this. Horus is given a limited time to interact with the humans of New York and procreate. During his search for a host body, Horus encounters Nikopol, a rebel condemned to 30 years of hibernation who escapes his prison, due to a mechanical accident, one year early. Horus has been unsuccessful in attempting to take over the bodies of other humans; due to an incompatibility with the genetic alterations humans have undergone, the host bodies self-destruct while attempting to accommodate a god. Nikopol's body is acceptable as it has been frozen in prison/storage and not undergone the genetic changes causing the rejections. Horus takes partial control of Nikopol's body and starts looking for a woman he can mate with to provide him a son before his death sentence is carried out. When Horus/Nikopol discovers Jill, they become entangled in a web of murder and intrigue.
The final scene is the only one in which we hear actress Linda Hardy's voice as she recites in her native French the third stanza of Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
's poem Le Poison, which her character, Jill, has just been reading from the book she holds entitled Les Fleurs Du Mal
Les Fleurs du mal
Les Fleurs du mal is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. First published in 1857 , it was important in the symbolist and modernist movements...
or Flowers of Evil.
"Tout cela ne vaut pas le poison qui découle de tes yeux, de tes yeux verts, lacs où mon âme tremble et se voit à l'envers. Mes songes viennent en foule pour se désaltérer à ces gouffres amers."
[English translation: All that is not worth the poison that flows from your eyes, from your green eyes, lakes where my soul trembles and sees itself upside down. My dreams crowd in to slake their thirst in those bitter gulfs.]
Nikopol, who recites Baudelaire's turbulent poetry in other scenes of the movie, provides the final lines of dialogue by completing Jill's recitation in English. "But all that is not worth the prodigy of your saliva, Jill, that bites my soul, and dizzies it, and swirls it down, remorselessly, rolling it, fainting to the underworld."
Cast
- Linda HardyLinda HardyLinda Hardy is a French actress and model.-Biography:Hardy won the title of Miss France in 1992 and represented her country at Miss Universe and Miss World.-Movie career:...
as Jill Bioskop - Thomas KretschmannThomas KretschmannThomas Kretschmann is a German actor best known for playing Leutnant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, and Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong.-Early life:Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former...
as Alcide Nikopol - Charlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCharlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
as Elma Turner - Frédéric PierrotFrédéric PierrotFrédéric Pierrot is a French actor. He has appeared in over 75 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film Tell Me I'm Dreaming, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival....
as John - Thomas M. Pollard as Horus
- Yann Collette as Froebe
- Derrick Brenner as Jonas
Also starring: Olivier Achard, Corinne Jaber, Barbara Scaff, Joe Sheridan, Jacquelyn Toman, Jean-Louis Trintignant
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Jean-Louis Trintignant is a French actor who has enjoyed an international acclaim. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.-Career:...
.