Chrysalis (2007)

Nice effects though.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I have seen at a week distance two films describing Paris in the 2020s - 'La Jetee' by Chris Marker and 'Chrysalis'. They were made at more than four decades distance in time, and yet they have many similar lines bringing up troubling visions of the future of the vary familiar and warm city that is Paris.Same as 'La Jetee', 'Chrysalis' is a very stylish film, with striking visuals. All is filmed in blue metallic light, which creates a artificial, cold, robotic atmosphere for a sci-fi and cop story which is a combination of some older (tough cop with young female partner as in 'Dernier domicile connu') and newer themes (mind control, human traffic). The principal problem is that the story is confusing, and even when the two parallel threads converged not all the details come clear.Some good acting (especially Albert Dupontel in the lead role) and well filmed fights choreography cannot save the film, which remains a too dry exercise, with too much style and too little substance, and failing to create emotion.

Scifi action film about a cop investigating murders tied to the death of his partner. All roads lead to a weird institute where weird experiments involving memory are taking place.Its a been there and done that sort of a film, especially if you watch any number of dystopian scifi films. What strikes me as kind of sad was that the film often feels like its standing in front of you waving at you in a pathetic attempt to make you think you haven't seen this before. The film's case cover mentions that the action sequences were from the person responsible for the action in the Bourne films, and that maybe the case but the director doesn't shoot it with any sense of Bourne's style and the result is further boredom.Not worth your time.

This is a sloppy piece of whatever it's supposed to be. It's terrible in so many ways it's embarrassing to all involved. The script is utter nonsense that won't make a lick of sense either. I don't know who OK'd this script or how exactly it was even sold. I can see the pitch saying, here is the script I doesn't make sense now but we will work on it in post. Yeah it didn't happen. Please do not bother this terrible drivel. Worse than anything is that it actually looks pretty decent, but it just goes to show if you don't have a decent script that makes at least A LITTLE bit of sense it won't matter. That acting is wooden & somebody thought they were making something good, because it seems like there was some care in the making of it. I understand just about all movies, but you won't have a clue what is actually happening until at least 45 minutes to an hour in, if you even make that far which most of you won't.

Julien Leclercq.....how do I buy a copy of this wonderful film on DVD in the USA??? I saw your film, Chrysalis, at AFI/Dallas. I admire it tremendously for so many aspects of the work. I am a novice film maker and wish to study all that you have incorporated into the creation of this project. It is clearly a construction of what you appreciate so much about American style action films. But you have achieved all this and even more in this effort. And so very nicely hidden is this process, so as not to be too obvious. Beautiful, stylized, intriguing, gripping. The characters are fully developed and acted to a fine manner. Oh, but for a better ending...Chrysalis would be an instant cult classic and must have for all lovers of this genre, as well as many others. I would give it: A+ Directing, A+ Cinematography, A Ensemble Acting, A Sound Design, A+ Editing, C+ Script, (but only for the ending). In all I would hope to accomplish but a very small fraction of what you have created in this fine and marvelous effort. Most respectful congratulations to you. I will look forward to seeing many more Julien Leclercq films to come. (If I am to be allowed to buy them in the USA!) Regrds, JB