Nirvana (film)
Encyclopedia
Nirvana is a science fiction film
, produced in Italy in 1997
by director Gabriele Salvatores
, starring Christopher Lambert
, Diego Abatantuono
, Sergio Rubini
and Stefania Rocca
. It was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
.
Jimi feels desperate because his wife Lisa (played by Emmanuelle Seigner
) left him. He starts to search for her as he tries to delete Solo from the game. These two paths of his life complement in the story throughout the whole movie. By the end, Jimi hacks into one of the company's servers. This hack is in the world of virtual reality interpreted as encounters with persons from Jimi's life. That is the way the network defends itself. It tries to keep the hacker's mind in the loop of his own memories as it burns the hacker's brain. The only way to pass through the network defence mechanism is to free one's mind. To forget about life before or after; to forget about bodily feelings; to enter a state of pure concentration, where one focuses only on the target (in this case the server with the company's money account). It is similar to meditation where one tries to concentrate on breathing. People who are able to do this are called angels (they are invisible to the system, they can go anywhere they want and their possibilities are limitless). In the end Jimi feels enlightened. He is in inner peace with himself. He saved the character, understood why Lisa left and understands why the things happened in the way they happened. He is in the state of Nirvana.
, shot the movie mainly in "Portello
" the old Alfa Romeo
assembly plant in Milan
. The whole place was converted in this sci-fi set where many ethnic sides of the city are shown. From the Indian to the Japanese to the Chinese, the movie moves around the dynamic and the futuristic realms that the future created.
The storyline itself exemplifies several main themes of cyberpunk
, such as the Philip K. Dick
quote "Living and unliving things are exchanging properties", meaning computers are becoming human, and humans are becoming less so, both by the influence of technology.
Despite a poor box office reception amidst accusations of weak plotting and simplistic rendering of the main themes, Nirvana has achieved something of a cult status, especially in Europe. The title of the film is key to understanding its comparison of reincarnation with being endlessly reborn in a video game.
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...
, produced in Italy in 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
by director Gabriele Salvatores
Gabriele Salvatores
Gabriele Salvatores , is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directed several avant-garde pieces until 1989.In that year, he directed his...
, starring Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
, Diego Abatantuono
Diego Abatantuono
Diego Abatantuono is an Italian cinema and theatre actor, as well screenwriter.-Biography and career:Abatantuono was born in a popular quarter of the city to a father of Pugliese origin and a mother from Como...
, Sergio Rubini
Sergio Rubini
- Biography :He was born in Grumo Appula but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theater, he debuted in a feature film with Figlio mio infinitamente caro , which was followed by Desiderando Giulia and Il caso Moro...
and Stefania Rocca
Stefania Rocca
Stefania Rocca is an Italian actress.Rocca is best known for her roles in the films Nirvana , The Talented Mr. Ripley and Dracula . She also was the lead in Dario Argento's The Card Player. Her most recent appearance was in the Italian movie, Commediasexi where she played the main character,...
. It was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
1997 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
.
Plot
The movie tells the story of a virtual-reality game designer, Jimi (Lambert), who finds out that the main character of his game, Solo (played by Abatantuono), has achieved sentience due to an attack by a computer virus. Asked by his creation (who feels everything the character in the game feels, including multiple deaths) to eliminate its existence, Jimi sets out to erase the game from his employer's server before it's commercially released, and thus spare Solo further suffering.Jimi feels desperate because his wife Lisa (played by Emmanuelle Seigner
Emmanuelle Seigner
Emmanuelle Seigner is a French actress, former fashion model, and singer, best known as the wife of Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski, and for her roles in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , and Frantic...
) left him. He starts to search for her as he tries to delete Solo from the game. These two paths of his life complement in the story throughout the whole movie. By the end, Jimi hacks into one of the company's servers. This hack is in the world of virtual reality interpreted as encounters with persons from Jimi's life. That is the way the network defends itself. It tries to keep the hacker's mind in the loop of his own memories as it burns the hacker's brain. The only way to pass through the network defence mechanism is to free one's mind. To forget about life before or after; to forget about bodily feelings; to enter a state of pure concentration, where one focuses only on the target (in this case the server with the company's money account). It is similar to meditation where one tries to concentrate on breathing. People who are able to do this are called angels (they are invisible to the system, they can go anywhere they want and their possibilities are limitless). In the end Jimi feels enlightened. He is in inner peace with himself. He saved the character, understood why Lisa left and understands why the things happened in the way they happened. He is in the state of Nirvana.
Cast
- Christopher LambertChristopher LambertChristophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
- Jimi Dini - Sergio RubiniSergio Rubini- Biography :He was born in Grumo Appula but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theater, he debuted in a feature film with Figlio mio infinitamente caro , which was followed by Desiderando Giulia and Il caso Moro...
- Joystick - Diego AbatantuonoDiego AbatantuonoDiego Abatantuono is an Italian cinema and theatre actor, as well screenwriter.-Biography and career:Abatantuono was born in a popular quarter of the city to a father of Pugliese origin and a mother from Como...
- Solo - Stefania RoccaStefania RoccaStefania Rocca is an Italian actress.Rocca is best known for her roles in the films Nirvana , The Talented Mr. Ripley and Dracula . She also was the lead in Dario Argento's The Card Player. Her most recent appearance was in the Italian movie, Commediasexi where she played the main character,...
- Naima - Emmanuelle SeignerEmmanuelle SeignerEmmanuelle Seigner is a French actress, former fashion model, and singer, best known as the wife of Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski, and for her roles in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , and Frantic...
- Lisa - Amanda SandrelliAmanda SandrelliAmanda Sandrelli is an Italian actress.Born in Lausanne, she is the daughter of singer Gino Paoli and actress Stefania Sandrelli. She debuted in L'Attenzione, from director Giovanni Soldati, in 1984....
- Maria - Claudio Bisio - Red Rover
- Gigio Alberti - Dr. Ratzenberger
- Antonio Catania - Paranoia Vendor
- Ugo Conti - Sicilian Tourist
- Leonardo Gajo - Gaz-Gaz
- Silvio OrlandoSilvio OrlandoSilvio Orlando is an Italian actor.Orlando was born in Naples. He worked with numerous Italian directors such as Nanni Moretti, Daniele Luchetti, Carlo Mazzacurati, Gabriele Salvatores and others...
- Indian Desk Clerk - Paolo RossiPaolo RossiPaolo Rossi is an Italian former football striker. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot/top scorer honors, and the Golden Ball. After his performance at the 1982 FIFA World Cup he became a hero in the hearts of all Italians...
- Joker - Bebo Storti - Meditating man
Overview
Nirvana is one of the rare Italian science fiction films to use extensive computer generated special effects. The director, Gabriele SalvatoresGabriele Salvatores
Gabriele Salvatores , is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directed several avant-garde pieces until 1989.In that year, he directed his...
, shot the movie mainly in "Portello
Portello, Milan
Portello is a district of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city, located north-west of the centre. It is best known as a car-manufacturing area, as it used to house facilities of Alfa Romeo , Darracq, Citroën, and Fiat. The district also includes one of the major...
" the old Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
assembly plant in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. The whole place was converted in this sci-fi set where many ethnic sides of the city are shown. From the Indian to the Japanese to the Chinese, the movie moves around the dynamic and the futuristic realms that the future created.
The storyline itself exemplifies several main themes of cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
, such as the Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
quote "Living and unliving things are exchanging properties", meaning computers are becoming human, and humans are becoming less so, both by the influence of technology.
Despite a poor box office reception amidst accusations of weak plotting and simplistic rendering of the main themes, Nirvana has achieved something of a cult status, especially in Europe. The title of the film is key to understanding its comparison of reincarnation with being endlessly reborn in a video game.