Ari Folman’s directorial debut “Waltz with Bashir” blew us away. It was unlike anything we’d seen before, in the documentary medium or otherwise. We’ve been waiting with bated breath for a better glimpse of Folman’s next effort “The Congress” after being teased with a still in January and we finally have an opportunity to look at a little less than a minute of footage. Sadly that isn’t much to work with, but what it shows can safely be called expectation exceeding, visually stunning and flat out awesome. If “The Congress” was anticipated before, now it’s at the top of the list.
“The Congress” is based on the novel “The Futurological Congress” by Stanislaw Lem, who also famously authored “Solaris” that was adapted into films by both Andrei Tarkovsky and Steven Soderbergh. While the book’s story follows “a man who is propelled into a world where hallucinogenic drugs have replaced reality” the film will follow actress Robin Wright, playing an aging version of “herself” who’s popularity has waned as film studios sampled and used her image over and over. Interesting? We think so.
When you watch the clip try not to get yourself down about the French narration, which suffocates all other sounds. The images on their own are beautifully detailed, wonderfully surreal, epic gems. Folman’s style appears to have translated well from the real world into the fictional, and his familiarity with true war makes this futuristic world feel frightfully factual. The film is set to feature both live-action and animation, and we’ve yet to see the live part. This will tide us over for a while, but we’re dying to see more. This footage likely found itself online after the Cartoon Movie symposium in Lyons, France, so we’ll keep our eyes open for any potential venues where “Congress” may screen. –Eric T. Voigt