Nirvana (1997)

The main character Solo in Nirvana, a computer game developed by Jimi for release in 3 days, has gained self-awareness after a virus attack. Solo wants to be deleted. Jimi wants to find his ex.

Director:

Gabriele Salvatores

Writers:

Gabriele Salvatores, Pino Cacucci (screenplay collaborator)

Stars:

Christopher Lambert, Diego Abatantuono, Sergio Rubini

5 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Lambert	...	Jimi Dini
Diego Abatantuono	...	Solo
Sergio Rubini	...	Joystick
Stefania Rocca	...	Naima
Amanda Sandrelli	...	Maria
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Lisa (as Emanuelle Seigner)
Claudio Bisio	...	Corvo Rosso
Antonio Catania	...	Venditore Paranoie
Gigio Alberti	...	Dr. Rauschenberg
Ugo Conti	...	Turista Siciliano
Silvio Orlando	...	Portiere Indiano
Oreste Guidi	...	Tedesco
Hal Yamanouchi	...	Okasama Starr (as Haruhiko Yamanouchi)
Avinash Ganesh	...	Avinash
Antonello Grimaldi	...	Portiere Pakistano

Storyline

Jimi, a successful computer game designer, finds that his latest product has been infected by a virus which has given consciousness to the main character of the game, Solo. Tormented by the memory of his fled girlfriend Lisa and begged by Solo to end its useless "life", Jimi begins a search for people who can help him both to discover what happened to Lisa and to delete his game before it is released.

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Plot Keywords:

cyberpunk | video game designer | computer hacker | blue hair | virtual reality | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence, drug use and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The blue woman with many hands, an image that features throughout the movie (and is supposedly the cover art for the game) is Kali, the Hindu goddess of power, time, change, destruction and death.

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Quotes

Maria: Don't you like making love with me?
Solo: Well, yeah, of course, Maria; but, I mean: just be two electro-magnetic equations humping each other: don't mean to be distressing, but the procedure's in your head, but not, your sensations. It was Jimi who fed them in.
Maria: Mm; mmm; ok: So, who's this person, Jimi?
Solo: He's the guy that thought us up.
Maria: Oh.

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Crazy Credits

The last credit states as unintentional every reference to "person, things and trademarks".

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Alternate Versions

During 1997, shortly after it was released in Italy, Miramax's Dimension label dubbed Nirvana into English, in order to give it more mainstream appeal for the American market.

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Connections

References Max Headroom (1987)

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Soundtracks

Tema di Lisa
Written by Federico De Robertis

User Reviews

Enjoyable cyberpunk movie!

Christophe(r) Lambert heads an international cast in this 1997 French-Italian(?) co-production. While the movie doesn't have the big budget a Hollywood blockbuster would have had, it still manages to create an interesting & convincing near-future world. Actually, it's one of the few films that really manage to create a decent cyberpunk setting; right now, I can only think of "Nemesis" which was a pretty good effort, and then there's always "Blade Runner", of course...

As for the acting in this movie, it's always tough to rate the level of acting when the movie is dubbed, but all in all I'm not complaining. Lambert is good, and Diego Abatantuono (sp?) is interesting as the sentient game character Solo - and kind of appropriate, too, since he has the physical look of a real-life "Mario on steroids". :-)

There are also several nice touches of humour, that prevent the movie from taking itself too seriously (check out the meditating guy later on in the movie for a nice example...). Finally, there is some nice music in there as well.

All in all, an enjoyable little movie - with cult potential, I think.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 January 1997 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Nirvana

Filming Locations:

Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Colorado Film Production, Davis-Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 96 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1