I saw Ari Folman‘s The Congress at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and wasn’t exactly impressed, which I feel bad saying considering we’re talking about a film that’s taken around six years to make it to theaters.
Drafthouse will bring The Congress to cinemas on August 29 and today they’ve premiered the first trailer for the film I called “smart and challenging, but almost too much for its own good”. I also added:
Folman seems to have lost control of his film and just couldn’t find a way to reign it in. He definitely challenged himself and that’s something I think we want to see from all of today’s talented directors, but as much as I can respect the effort I can’t say I enjoyed the film.
Of course, this is just the kind of movie I’d rather see today’s audiences wrestling with than the endless stream of blockbusters, one running into the next and very few breaking away as anything remotely enjoyable. One thing I can assure you is after seeing The Congress you will want to talk about it with others.
Inspired by Stanislaw Lem’s short story “The Futurological Congress”, the film uses the idea that in the future hallucinogenic drugs will be used to replace reality, and Folman takes this thought to make a commentary on cinema and its potential demise at the hands of Hollywood overlords seeking new ways to remain stuck in the past rather than move forward into the future. Robin Wright is the film’s lead in a very daring role as she plays herself as an aging actress who’s “not even 45” being offered the last role she’ll ever be offered in Hollywood.
Give the trailer a watch and if you’re at all enticed be sure and look out for it this August. You can read my full review here.
