Renaissance (2006)

In 2054, Paris is a labyrinth where all movement is monitored and recorded. Casting a shadow over everything is the city's largest company, Avalon, which insinuates itself into every aspect of contemporary life to sell its primary export -- youth and beauty. In this world of stark contrasts and rigid laws the populace is kept in line and accounted for.

Director:

Christian Volckman

Writers:

Alexandre de La Patellière (original story), Matthieu Delaporte (original story),

Stars:

Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, Catherine McCormack

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Craig	...	Barthélémy Karas (voice)
Romola Garai	...	Ilona Tasuiev (voice)
Ian Holm	...	Jonas Muller (voice)
Kevork Malikyan	...	Nusrat Farfella (voice)
Catherine McCormack	...	Bislane Tasuiev (voice)
Jonathan Pryce	...	Paul Dellenbach (voice)
Robert Dauney	...	Karas (voice)
Crystal Shepherd-Cross	...	Bislane (voice)
Isabelle Van Waes	...	Ilona (voice) (as Isabelle Van Waess)
Max Hayter	...	Dellenbach (voice)
Marco Lorenzini	...	Muller (voice)
Jerome Causse	...	Amiel (voice)
Clémentine Baert	...	Nurses (voice)
Chris Bearne	...	Parisian (voice)
David Benito	...	Nayhib (voice)

Storyline

Paris, 2042: a dark motion-captured world of shadows and right angles. Ilona Tasuiev, a brilliant young scientist, is kidnapped, and her employer, Avalon, a major health and beauty corporation, wants her found. Karas, a jaded police captain, is assigned to find her, fast. He seeks help from her sister, Bislane, and they are soon uncovering identify theft, missing files, and hints that something back in 2006 may explain what's going on. Ilona's mentor, Avalon's vice president, a Japanese researcher, an underworld boss, and Bislane's drug connection all figure in the mix. So does an attraction between Karas and Bislane. What's behind the kidnapping? Who's the victim?

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Plot Keywords:

kidnapping | missing file | 2050s | monopoly | aging | 

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Taglines:

Paris 2054. Live forever or die trying.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images, sexuality, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

DVD Site [United States] Pathé [France]

Country:

France UK Luxembourg

Language:

English French

Release Date:

15 March 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Renacimiento

Box Office

Budget:

€14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,800 (USA) (22 September 2006)

Gross:

$63,260 (USA) (13 October 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Onyx Films, France 2 Cinéma, Backup Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Renaissance took six years to complete on a budget of 15 million dollars.

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Goofs

The movie is set in 2054, this is shown at the beginning, where the date "Oct 12 2054" is given in the Avalon advertisement. Throughout the movie, Ilona is said to be 22 years old, so she should be born around 2034. However, when she is abducted in the beginning, her passport is falling to the ground and her date of birth is visible as "24/06/2020". So either the movie plays in 2042 or the d.o.b. in her passport is wrong.

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Quotes

Barthélémy Karas: I don't know anything about saints, but I have an uncanny instinct for sniffing out a son of a bitch.

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Connections

Referenced in Renaissance: Making of promo (2006)

User Reviews

Breath taking graphics, great story

I've seen this film in avant-premiere at Imagina Festival in Monaco.

I saw the first trailer four years ago, and from this moment, I was waiting to see the final result. I haven't been disappointed.

It is a full 3d movie with a high contrasted black and white render. Clearly inspired by some comic books, such as the ones from F. Miller. In this optic, it goes one step further than the excellent "Sin City" adaptation from R. Rodriguez. This time, (almost) no Grey or any middle color, but a graphic style never seen before in a realistic animated film.(can't wait for scanner darkly)

The massive use of Motion Capture gives a lot of life and credibility to the characters and we forget really soon the technical aspect to concentrate on more classic elements, such as direction or plot. The direction stays sober and controlled despite the infinite possibilities of the medium, and that is a really good surprise.

The futuristic story (Paris 2053) makes it a classic sci-fiction movie and maintain the viewer interested till the end. Despite a classic base plot (an investigation that goes far beyond initial expectations)the atmosphere and some interesting recurring themes (genetics, absolute power of certain firms...)gives this movie a great interest.

Despite it is an animated film, this one is obviously not made for children. You won't find here any funny pet or any stupid family moral, only the cold reality. It is far closer to a good film noir.

I found that the setting is one of the best aspect of the film: we still feel the well known Paris, but it is morphed by a fine touch of futurism.

Nevertheless, I regret a few mistakes. The montage is sometimes a bit flat, one or two very cliché slow motion effects and some poor dialogs. Even though the technical is excellent, it shows its limits in some romantic sequences (a bit like "final fantasy" did). Those little things makes it a 7/10.

Altogether, it is a successful artistic challenge that you have to watch if you can. The director, Christian Volckman, knows how not to fall into potential traps (luckyly, they didn't ask John Woo to do the job!).

To conclude, it is a film with blasting visuals, an intelligent story and a wonderful art direction. Watch it if you can!

Please excuse me for the spelling mistakes.