Immortel (ad vitam) (2004)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Enki Bilal

Writers:

Enki Bilal (comic books "La Foire aux immortels" and "La Femme piège")
Enki Bilal (scenario & adaptation and dialogue)

Release Date:

24 March 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

New York 2095. In a strange pyramid floating in the sky, the gods of ancient Egypt are judging Horus. In the city, a young women with blue hair and tears is arrested, but she has a secret power, even to herself...

Plot Keywords:

Blue Hair | Pyramid | Mutant | New York Skyline | Teenage Girl

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Linda Hardy	...	Jill Bioskop
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Alcide Nikopol
Charlotte Rampling	...	Elma Turner
Yann Collette	...	Froebe
Frédéric Pierrot	...	John
Thomas M. Pollard	...	Horus
Joe Sheridan	...	Allgood
Corinne Jaber	...	Lily Liang
Olivier Achard	...	Checker
Jerry Di Giacomo	...	Jack Turner
Dominique Mahut	...	Hotel Receptionist
Gary Cowan	...	Tycho Barman
Augustin Legrand	...	Pusher / Salesman
Javon Constantin	...	Eugenics Little Boy
Owen Steketee	...	Horus's Baby

Also Known As:

Immortal (Ad Vitam) (International: English title) (Italy)
Immortal (USA) (video title)
Immortel (France) (short title)
La femme piège (France) (working title)
Trilogy (France) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality/nudity, language and some violence.

Runtime:

France:102 min

Country:

France | Italy | UK

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | UK:15 | France:U | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R

Company:

Téléma

Trivia:

Nikopol's first name in the comics is Alcide.

Quotes:

Jill Bioskop: I am a professional guinea pig!

Movie Connections:

References The Matrix (1999)

Soundtrack:

Nights in White Satin

Funny, Sexy, Smart... Hauntingly Beautiful

Metropolis, Brazil, Blade Runner, City of Lost Children, Fifth Element, Dark City... throw them all in a blender and you've got the dark futuristic look of Immortal (Ad Vitam). Along with "Moebius" (art designer for Fifth Element) and Alejandro Jodorowsky (director of El Topo), Enki Bilal is one of the master story-tellers from the original Metal Hurlant publication known to most American comic-book aficionados as Heavy Metal.

This is the film the original Heavy Metal should have been. There is sex and humor and action, but it is all thoroughly in service of a science-fiction plot gleefully drenched in Egyptian-mythological fantasy. The style is pure Bilal, textured and palpable.

The plot is cerebral in that all humor (and tension) relates to character development; much like Blade Runner, if you do not follow the dialog there may not be enough action to sustain interest throughout the story. As such, there is little I could reveal about plot particulars without spoiling enjoyment of the tale's unfolding... the sad business about the leg, the quest for a certain woman, experiments with consumption, bathroom services, an oddly-formed fish...

If you have a taste for science-fiction and fantasy, I highly recommend you take a little tour of New York 2095!