Being familiar with Enki Bilal's work I was happy to get a chance to see this film, which is on limited supply in Europe. The feel and looks of the comics are well realized in this live action film, situated in a kind of post- apocalyptic France. Apart from the scenes situated on the moon, where the dictatorial Mac B'ee family is ruling. Their search for the former organ donor Tykho Moon, who himself is amnesiac after the first operation, to cure the family from a strange disease, provides the plotline. The actors are well chosen, matching the drawings of Bilal characters. Moreover they're top French actors. I wish more American actors would sometimes choose to do more daring and interesting stuff. The decors and costumes were nice but a bit too obvious sometimes. I did enjoy the icey blue teint covering it all though. This depressing constant paleness in the sky contrasted with an image of the Eiffel Tower with the upper half cut off is just brilliant and still makes me smile thinking about it now. The film is capturing enough and the plot revealing enough till the end to also satisfy people who don't care for Bilal comics. Pre-Amelie (if I may) Jeunet et Caro fans as well as people who like more bizarre French suspense like l'Appartement should have a good time watching this film.
4 Reviews
Bilal : the new master of French science fiction
lolo-62 November 1998
Warning: Spoilers
The work of Bilal is enchanting in the way it transports us to a world that just might exist. Although we are not quite sure yet where we will be in a hundred years, Bilal doesn't care for reality while creating his own. Tykho Moon is a direct transition from paper to negative as it becomes a comic book coming to life, each character more disturbing than the previous one, all obsessed by their own phobias but all hoping to find a brighter future.
Tykho Moon is set on the moon, a place now ruled by a dictator, Mac Bee, who is dying and can only be saved by one doner, Anikst. The chase begins as he refuses to come to the help of his ruler, fearing death. Along the way he meets Lean, a prostitute played by Julie Delpy, who helps him in his quest for freedom.
The film not only recreates the world Bilal has gotten his readers used to, but also brings together an incredible cast that give credibility to his imagination. Although not technically perfect, Tykho Moon is a good first feature film that deserves to become one of the best science fiction film France has ever produced, following the steps of Farenheit 451 (by Francois Truffaut) and The City of Lost Children (by Caro and Jeunet).
Tykho Moon is set on the moon, a place now ruled by a dictator, Mac Bee, who is dying and can only be saved by one doner, Anikst. The chase begins as he refuses to come to the help of his ruler, fearing death. Along the way he meets Lean, a prostitute played by Julie Delpy, who helps him in his quest for freedom.
The film not only recreates the world Bilal has gotten his readers used to, but also brings together an incredible cast that give credibility to his imagination. Although not technically perfect, Tykho Moon is a good first feature film that deserves to become one of the best science fiction film France has ever produced, following the steps of Farenheit 451 (by Francois Truffaut) and The City of Lost Children (by Caro and Jeunet).
Cult dystopian gem
buzzy_bob26 January 2020
It deserves to be on the same shelf as Brazil, city of lost children,Delicatessen, 12 monkeys, Gattaca, etc ...
The dialogues are poetic, funny, intriguing. This is not a big budget movie at all, so it obviously lack great elements of a 12 monkeys for example, but it reaches more than my expectations.
If you like this one, I strongly advice to see other Enki Bilal's movies.
Comic with real life actors
leemhuis1 August 2001
This film is great, basicly being a comic-strip film with real life actors. The world it depicts is strange: It is not fantasy-like, and not science-fiction like. It's more like the sad Eastern Europe after the cold war. And also the behaviour of the actors is strange, unhuman. Like in comicstrips
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