New Int'l. Release

Renaissance

 (Animated -- France-Luxembourg-U.K.)

By LISA NESSELSON

The Paris-set 'Renaissance' takes new animation techniques aboard for a film noir actioner directed by Christian Volckman.

A Pathe Distribution release (in France) of an Onyx Films, Millimages presentation of an Onyx Films, Millimages, France 2 Cinema (France)/LuxAnimation (Luxembourg)/Timefirm (U.K.) production. Produced by Aton Soumache, Alexis Vonarb. Executive producer, Jean-Bernard Marinot. Co-producers, Roch Lener, Lilian Eche, Ariane Payen, Timothy Burrill. Directed by Christian Volckman. Screenplay, Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre De La Patelliere, Patrick Raynal, Jean-Bernard Pouy; story, Delaporte, De La Patelliere; original visual concept, Marc Miance; characters created by Julien Renoult, Gerald Parel.
 
Actors/voices: Robert Dauney/Patrick Floersheim, Crystal Sheperd-Cross/Laura Blanc, Isabelle Van Waes/Virginie Mery, Max Hayter/Gabriel Ledoze, Marco Lorenzi/Marc Cassot, Jerome Causse/Bruno Choel, Jean-Francois Wolff/Marc Alfos.
 

Take "Metropolis," "Blade Runner" and "Sin City," set them in Paris in 2054, run their widescreen visuals through an ultra-high-contrast B&W photocopying machine and you'll have a semblance of "Renaissance," a melancholy actioner that shines a new light on film noir. A sort of "The Third Man" for the 21st century, chiaroscuro curio's level of graphic invention is exceeded only by its pleasingly mournful approach. Fans of live action melded with a graphic-novel sensibility should consider this a must.

Characters are composites of live actors whose movements were modified after motion capture -- not unlike Tom Hanks in "Polar Express." Resulting human movements are convincing and the human faces are just expressive enough, with a Dick Tracy-like hint of stiffness that's closer to comic-book panels than digital filmmaking.

Suspenseful, though not entirely unfamiliar, narrative follows an intrepid cop assigned to find a kidnapped, 22-year-old female scientist. She works -- as does just about everybody -- for mega-corp Avalon. But something that happened back in 2006 casts a long, mysterious shadow over his investigation.

Pic's monochrome, visually startling universe portrays a future that's exceedingly cool but not too futuristic, including a nod to Op Art of the '60s. The Metro is still running, and the Eiffel Tower and Sacre-Coeur are both where they belong.

However, wedding-cake layers of architecture -- conjured by Alfred Frazzani, who also contributed to the Manhattan of 2095 in Enki Bilal's equally striking "Immortel Ad Vitam" -- have been grafted on to the ancient lodgings, bridges have been altered and there's a groovy see-through esplanade at the base of Notre Dame cathedral.

Incorruptible cop Karas (Robert Dauney, voiced by Patrick Floersheim), a specialist in missing persons cases, is determined to find kidnapped Ilona Tasuiev (Isabelle Van Waes/Virginie Mery) before somebody -- or something -- gets there first. Karas forms a wary alliance with Ilona's big sister, Bislane (Crystal Sheperd-Cross/Laura Blanc).

The two women were rescued from the Caucasus when Ilona, a brilliantly precocious scientific researcher, was only 13. In Paris, older geneticist Jonas Muller (Marco Lorenzi/Marc Cassot) has been her mentor, but Paul Dellenbach (Max Hayter/Gabriel Ledoze) of Avalon is her tenacious employer.

It's a testament to the production design that one quickly gets caught up in the story without ever completely losing the "ooh-ahh" factor. Ominous, wall-to-wall music bolsters the appropriately uneasy mood, and the bittersweet conclusion is satisfying.

For the record, pic features 120 characters against 90 Parisian backdrops. Producers reckon the budget for a conventional telling of the same story would have been E200 million ($240 million), compared with the $18 million it reportedly cost.

Debuting helmer Christian Volckman and his crack team of computer artists and animators (of whom Marc Miance was the main innovator) have carved out a tiny niche in filmmaking history, just as the designers of "Tron" and "Matrix" did.

Motion capture supervisor (B&W, widescreen), Remi Brun; editor, Pascal Tosi; music, Nicholas Dodd; art director, Pascal Valdes; sound (Dolby), Tim Cavagin, Steve Single, Fred Echelard; sound designers, Gregoire and Thomas Couzinier; animation studio, Attitude Studio; character modeling supervisor, Jerome Desvignes; compositing supervisor, Guillaume Terrien; matte painting, Benjamin Bardou, Pierre Marteel; backdrops and accessories, Vincent Rueda, Laurent Gapaillard, Sylvain Despretz, Helene Giraud; visual effects supervisor, Pierre Villette; keyframe animator, Pierre Avon; associate producers, Jake Eberts, Ralph Kamp, Louise Goodsill, Illann Girard; assistant director, Dominique Furge; casting, Monique Durlacher Van Der Waals. Reviewed at UGC Danton, Paris, March 21, 2006. Running time: 103 MIN.