Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/super-cool-ad-inserter/inc/scaip-shortcode-inserter.php on line 37
Ari Folman’s The Congress mixes live action with animation, a critique of Hollywood with a trippy sci-fi plot, and the real-life career of actress Robin Wright with rampant speculation about her future. It’s an ambitious project that mostly succeeds — it’s too long, and does fall into a few rabbit holes — and is surely the loopiest head trip at theaters this summer.
Wright portrays a version of herself: an actress in her mid-40s who can’t get roles. The crass studio exec (Danny Huston) pines for the “Buttercup” of The Princess Bride. But he offers her a last-chance deal: Wright could digitize herself, and the studio would continue to make movies with that data. Reluctantly, Wright agrees.
Jump ahead a couple of decades and Wright is en route to “The Congress,” located in a drug-induced dreamworld where everybody is transformed into the avatar of their choice. She is an honored guest, since her digital self has become a popular on-screen action star and avatar pick. But confronting the “reality” of this unreal world sends Wright (now animated) on a soul-searching journey — and several psychedelic trips. She must try to parse waking and dream states, life and “life,” while discovering whether there is space for love in a dreamscape where everybody is pretending to be somebody else. Intriguing stuff for those willing to take the trip.
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2014.
While the book was better than the movie I still really liked The Congress (the book is The Futurological Congress) and wouldn’t mind owning a (digital) copy. Maybe because I’ve read the book and experienced the extreme trippiness of it those rabbitholes didn’t bother me in the least. In fact I was expecting more of them or for some of them to last longer since they do in the book.
If you’ve read the book you should certainly see it, if you’ve not read the book – go see it and then read the book. The book will make you question this reality that we find ourselves in. The film will provide a lot of laughs and some things to think about, has a great soundtrack, and wonderful visuals.