Dante 01 (France)
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Dante 01 (France)
From Marc Caro (The City of Lost Children) comes Dante 01 (2008). Set to be released in France/Monaco on August 5th. Courtesy of Wild Side. Preliminary info indicates lack of English subtitles for the main feature.
Official site and trailer:
http://www.wildbunch-distribution.com/site/dante01/
Variety:
Marc Caro's throbbing, disturbing tale of two new arrivals on a putrid penal craft in a forsaken cosmos posits that in space, no one can hear your screaming symbolism. The dank, arresting visual style Caro perfected with then co-helmer Jean-Pierre Jeunet on "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children" and on latter's "Alien: Resurrection" is alive and well in this wearing assault on the senses. Jan. 2 release is specialist fare with a potent yuck factor.
Derivative in its broad contours yet given to bursts of ickiness that qualify as original, pic is an airsick cousin to Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" in which captors and prisoners speak French and everybody's waxy-skinned and bald.
There will be three circles to this particular hell, introduced by the words "First Circle" and so forth, superimposed over the darkness of space. Voiceover by the craft's lucid and compassionate Persephone (Simona Maicanescu), one of three doctors on board, tells us that everybody on the crucifix-shaped vessel Dante 01 is doomed. Cool.
In the bravura opening, a shuttle docks to deliver two passengers. Frozen, shrink-wrapped Saint Georges (Lambert Wilson) is rudely defrosted and left to vomit and sweat with understandable acclimation problems.
Other passenger is no-nonsense doctor Elisa (Linh Dan Pham, in an impressive 180 from her role as Roman Duris' piano teacher in "The Beat That My Heart Skipped"). She's there to use the prisoners as guinea pigs for a new nanotechnology-derived "treatment" that's obviously really painful, not to mention unethical and evil. Her corporate approach is odious, but mission chief Charon (Gerald Laroche) sanctions it.
Relentless sound design displays absolute mastery of the tonalities of unease as pic radiates otherworldly creepiness, augmented by cast's distinctive faces. Finale is as visually riveting as it is narratively predictable (seeing as how Persephone's voice keeps popping in to tell us to abandon hope, having entered here, in direct proximity to hell).
Marvelously muscular and expressive, Wilson gives a dedicated, near-wordless perf. Surprisingly, Caro-Jeunet staple Dominique Pinon registers as stilted until a harrowing sequence in which (shades of "Alien: Resurrection") he plunges into a flooded conduit in hopes of reaching a manual control panel.
Ensemble cast fully inhabits the invented environment, which, while admirably complete, will be a little too hermetic for the masses.
Camera (color, widescreen), Jean Poisson; editors, Linda Attab, Sebastien Prangere; music, Raphael Elig, Eric Wenger; production designer, Bertrand Seitz; costume designers, Chattoune and Fabien; sound (Dolby SRD), Nicolas Provost, Julien Poncet de la Grave, Gerard Hardy, Loic Prian, Vincent Arnardi, Denis Lefoup; special effects, Caro; assistant director, Franck Vestiel; casting, Olivier Carbone. Reviewed at Pathe screening room, Paris, Dec. 18, 2007. Running time: 88 MIN.
Derivative in its broad contours yet given to bursts of ickiness that qualify as original, pic is an airsick cousin to Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" in which captors and prisoners speak French and everybody's waxy-skinned and bald.
There will be three circles to this particular hell, introduced by the words "First Circle" and so forth, superimposed over the darkness of space. Voiceover by the craft's lucid and compassionate Persephone (Simona Maicanescu), one of three doctors on board, tells us that everybody on the crucifix-shaped vessel Dante 01 is doomed. Cool.
In the bravura opening, a shuttle docks to deliver two passengers. Frozen, shrink-wrapped Saint Georges (Lambert Wilson) is rudely defrosted and left to vomit and sweat with understandable acclimation problems.
Other passenger is no-nonsense doctor Elisa (Linh Dan Pham, in an impressive 180 from her role as Roman Duris' piano teacher in "The Beat That My Heart Skipped"). She's there to use the prisoners as guinea pigs for a new nanotechnology-derived "treatment" that's obviously really painful, not to mention unethical and evil. Her corporate approach is odious, but mission chief Charon (Gerald Laroche) sanctions it.
Relentless sound design displays absolute mastery of the tonalities of unease as pic radiates otherworldly creepiness, augmented by cast's distinctive faces. Finale is as visually riveting as it is narratively predictable (seeing as how Persephone's voice keeps popping in to tell us to abandon hope, having entered here, in direct proximity to hell).
Marvelously muscular and expressive, Wilson gives a dedicated, near-wordless perf. Surprisingly, Caro-Jeunet staple Dominique Pinon registers as stilted until a harrowing sequence in which (shades of "Alien: Resurrection") he plunges into a flooded conduit in hopes of reaching a manual control panel.
Ensemble cast fully inhabits the invented environment, which, while admirably complete, will be a little too hermetic for the masses.
Camera (color, widescreen), Jean Poisson; editors, Linda Attab, Sebastien Prangere; music, Raphael Elig, Eric Wenger; production designer, Bertrand Seitz; costume designers, Chattoune and Fabien; sound (Dolby SRD), Nicolas Provost, Julien Poncet de la Grave, Gerard Hardy, Loic Prian, Vincent Arnardi, Denis Lefoup; special effects, Caro; assistant director, Franck Vestiel; casting, Olivier Carbone. Reviewed at Pathe screening room, Paris, Dec. 18, 2007. Running time: 88 MIN.
Pro-B
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Do you know if there are any plans to release a UK edition? I've been interested in seeing this for a very long time, but don't see a UK distributor listed in the film's IMDB information, so it seems unlikely at the moment. Unfortunately, the Weinsteins have the US rights...
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Any opinions on the film itself?
Sounds like a very interesting premise to me and since it's been way too long since City of Lost Children, it's almost an immediate blind buy, almost.
Sounds like a very interesting premise to me and since it's been way too long since City of Lost Children, it's almost an immediate blind buy, almost.
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This title has me more than a little intrigued. I may just blind buy the UK version as a US version is probably on tap for the fifth of never.
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Amazon UK recently had a price-drop for the pre-order of this one. As of right now, it is listed at 6.48 GBP which is 50% off the list price...too bad it is an indigostarfish/Jersey item (meaning no removal of VAT).
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After anticipating it for some time, I wasn't very impressed with this upon seeing it. The plot is fairly stock material with a touch or two to pull it past being complete routine, but these ultimately lead to a nonsensical and indulgent climax. Still, Caro obviously has some talent for the visual, but don't go into this expecting anything close to his work with Jeunet. The budget price on Amazon makes it less of a risk, if that's any sort of endorsement...
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Down to 4.98 GBP at Amazon UK...but still an indigostarfish item so no removal of VAT.
Also just a note if anyone was going to order it with other stuff - and I don't know if it is related to the pending reduction in VAT (17.5% down to 15%) that is coming on December 1 - but Amazon UK is a little glitchy for me right now and VAT is not being deducted from my attempted order (meaning those items which are indeed eligible for VAT removal, aka not the indigostarfish/Jersey stuff).
Also just a note if anyone was going to order it with other stuff - and I don't know if it is related to the pending reduction in VAT (17.5% down to 15%) that is coming on December 1 - but Amazon UK is a little glitchy for me right now and VAT is not being deducted from my attempted order (meaning those items which are indeed eligible for VAT removal, aka not the indigostarfish/Jersey stuff).
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I was quite disappointed with this - as has previously been mentioned, it's fairly well-trodden ground that's covered here - mix part Alien 3 with part Event Horizon and part Sunshine and you pretty much have it. Not a lot of fun, all said. Caro has a following, so if that's the case you may want to see it (and the price is nice and low at the moment), but it was all a bit WTF? by the end; the hasty finish betrayed how they'd run out of money (or had very little to begin with).