Renaissance
In the labyrinthine streets of 21st century Paris, where every move is monitored and ever action recorded, a mysterious kidnapping sets into motion a catastrophic series of events that could ultimately prove the downfall of civilization. The year is 2054, and the Avalon Corporation has securely woven its way into every aspect of modern living by making youth and beauty the most valued commodity around. Troubles arises in the City of Lights when a high-profile scientist named Ilona (voice of Romola Garai) is kidnapped, and policeman Barthélémy Karas (voice of Daniel Craig) is assigned the task of solving the case. As his investigation leads Karas down a menacing path where death lurks around every bend, he soon discovers that events that took place in 2006 have cast a dark shadow over the future of humankind. A film that mixes Blade Runner aesthetics with stark, Sin City-style visuals, Renaissance was filmed using motion-capture animation and features extravagant production design by Alfred Frazzani (Immortel Ad Vitam). more..
Director: Christian Volckman
One of the year's more luscious releases, offering not just the sleekest car chase but the most romantic of rainstorms.
Gorgeous and menacing at the same time.
Stark eye candy of the first order, the film is saddled with the oldest story this side of "Blade Runner." Still, comic-book fanboys and graphic designers with time to kill should feel no shame in checking this one out.
Connoisseurs of digital animation, graphic novels, and the history of dystopian art will have plenty to discuss about Christian Volckman's visually striking, technically impressive black-and-white animated feature Renaissance...But no one will be talking about the movie's banal plot, the trite dialogue, or any of the indistinguishable characters who offer a bleak futuristic vision of cinema that's all style, no soul.
Although intriguing to look at, Renaissance -- the latest animated film geared to adult audiences -- is undone by a plot that is ridiculously hard to follow and hackneyed.
Best Feature
Annecy International Animated Film Festival (2006)
Best Feature
Chicago International Film Festival (2006)
Christian Volckman
Fantasporto (2007)
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