''Renaissance'' (also known as ''Paris 2054: Renaissance'') is a 2006 animated tech noir film. The film, which was co-produced in France, the United Kingdom and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, was directed by Christian Volckman. It was released on 15 March 2006 in France and 28 July 2006 in the UK by Pathé Distribution and on 22 September 2006 in the US by Miramax Films. In the English-language version, some of the main characters are voiced by Daniel Craig, Jonathan Pryce and

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

. ''Renaissance'' uses a style of

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

animation in which almost all images are exclusively

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

; only occasional colour is used for detail. The film concerns a French policeman investigating the kidnapping of a scientist who may hold the key to eternal life in a futuristic and slightly dystopian Paris. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing only $1.8 million against a budget of $18 million.

Plot

In a future Paris, 22-year-old scientist Ilona Tasuiev, who works for the megacorporation Avalon, is kidnapped. Meanwhile, police captain Barthélémy Karas defuses a hostage situation by killing the hostage-takers. Afterwards Karas is given the job of solving the mystery surrounding Ilona's disappearance. Karas begins by contacting Dr. Jonas Muller, a former Avalon scientist familiar with her. Muller had been working to cure progeria, a genetic condition which affected his brother. Muller worked for Avalon as their top scientist but left after he failed to find a cure and his brother died. He took up new work at a free clinic. Muller tells Karas that "No one ever leaves Avalon", throwing the corporation under suspicion. Karas visits Paul Dellenbach, one of Avalon's CEOs and questions him about Ilona. On suggesting he may have been sleeping with her, Dellenbach replies "I sleep with my wife, I sleep with my secretary, I even sleep with my sister-in-law but I would never sleep with one of my researchers". After following a series of dead ends, control tells Karas they are tailing Illona's car through Paris. Eventually he captures the driver after a chase which ends at the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

. The man turns out to be a henchmen of Farfella, an Arab Muslim mobster and a childhood friend of Karas. The police captain returns the criminal to Farfella who in return gives him security footage of Illona's kidnapping; it shows her car being stolen by an incredibly old man. Karas asks Ilona's sister, Bislane, who works for Avalon to break into the company's Archives to discover what Muller was researching. Bislane discovers that a Dr. Nakata worked with Muller in a quest to find a cure for progeria. But they destroyed all evidence of their work when some of the children they were testing on started to mutate. Karas and Bislane then escape because accessing the closed file has alerted Avalon security. Later Karas opens up to Bislane and tells her that he and Farfella were raised in the casbah where they worked with gangs. After a drug run went wrong, they ended up in a holding cell. Farfella escaped but Karas was left to the mercy of the other gang. Karas puts Bislane under false arrest to protect her from Avalon. Meanwhile, Ilona is shown confined in a cyber ball which is being controlled by the old man. Eventually Karas tracks down Muller. He explains that he took Ilona because through her research she has discovered the secret to eternal life (as he himself did 40 years ago); but knowing what the consequences would be if Avalon acquired such knowledge, he kidnapped her. Karas tries to encourage the old scientist to hand himself in but Muller is mistakenly shot by a police marksman. Karas then deduces that the mysterious old man is Muller's younger brother: now immortal but trapped in an elderly body. Karas calls on Farfella who hides Bislane from Avalon while also getting a fake passport for Ilona. However the mega-corporation's security are also closing in on the Parisian sewer where Ilona is being held captive. After a short battle, Karas is mortally wounded rescuing Ilona. However she refuses to take the fake passport to start a new life. Instead she tells Karas she wants immortality by giving her discovery to Avalon. Reluctantly Karas shoots her in the back as she walks back towards Avalon security. CEO Dellenbach watches all this happen through a live feed from one of his men's helmet camera. As Karas lies dying, he imagines himself apologising to Bislane for killing her sister, for which she forgives him. Muller's little brother, living as a tramp, throws his picture of him and Muller into a burning bin. An advert for Avalon with an old woman becoming young again later says, "With Avalon, I know I'm beautiful and I'm going to stay that way."

Cast

French

* Patrick Floersheim as Barthélémy Karas * Laura Blanc as Bislane Tasuiev * Virginie Mery as Ilona Tasuiev * Gabriel Le Doze as Paul Dellenbach * Marc Cassot as Jonas Muller * Jerome Causse as Dmitri * Bruno Choel as Pierre Amiel * Marc Alfos as Nustrat Farfella * Chris Bearne as Multiple * Radica Jovicic as Woman Hostage

English dub

* Daniel Craig as Barthélémy Karas * Catherine McCormack as Bislane Tasuiev * Romola Garai as Ilona Tasuiev * Jonathan Pryce as Paul Dellenbach *

as Jonas Muller * Rick Warden as Amiel * Breffni McKenna as Dmitri * Kevork Malikyan as Nusrat Farfella * Pax Baldwin as Farfella Boy * Lachele Carl as Nora * Wayne Forrester as Administrator * Julian Nest as Parisien * Sean Pertwee as Montoya * Jessica Reavis as Multiple * Nina Sosanya as Reparez * Leslie Woodhall as Elderly Man

Production

The film's visual concept was based on

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

aesthetics, japanese animation as well other works like

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir Comic book, comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Prese ...

. The producers used

and computer graphics to create the film's look. The cast performed their scenes in motion-capture suits in front of a blue screen. Computer animators translated these animations to digital models used for the characters. The animated characters were placed in three-dimensional computer backdrops, with post-process effects added to achieve the film's final look. French automaker

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

designed a car specially for the film, imagining what a Citroën might look like in 2054. Volckman initially wanted Karas to drive a

Citroën DS The Citroën DS () is a Front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations ...

and approached the company for permission to use it in the film. Citroën suggested the filmmakers work with their designers to design a new car. The final design was produced after three months. The film cost €14 million to make over six years. It was funded by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

with US$3 million provided from Miramax.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed a total of $1,831,348 worldwide – $70,644 in North America and $1,760,704 in other territories – including $1,520,587 in Algeria, France, Monaco, Morocco and Tunisia.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported that of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 77 reviews with an average of . The site's consensus reads, "''Renaissance'' attempts to blend sci-fi wonder with stark noir animation, but is often more fun to look at than to watch."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 17 reviews. ''Renaissance'' won the Cristal for Best Feature at the 30th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The film was honoured at the 5th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials where it was awarded the prize for Best Feature Film.
KAFF 2007 Díjak
'' (English:
KAFF 2007 Awards
"). Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2007.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Renaissance (Film) 2006 films British black-and-white films Animated thriller films 2006 computer-animated films 2006 animated films French animated science fiction films 2000s French animated films 2000s British animated films Luxembourgian animated science fiction films British animated science fiction films English-language French films English-language Luxembourgian films 2000s French-language films Rotoscoped films 2006 science fiction films 2000s dystopian films French neo-noir films Dystopian films Cyberpunk films Films about kidnapping Animated films set in the 2050s Films set in 2054 Animated films set in Paris Films using motion capture Miramax films Miramax animated films Method Animation films Onyx Films films Millimages films LuxAnimation films Pathé films Odyssey Entertainment films France 2 Cinéma films Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film winners Films about immortality British adult animated films French adult animated films 2000s American films 2000s British films Animated films set in the future