What happens when an actor, in an effort to stay young and perfect forever, signs away everything that makes them unique? Is an artificial life more vivid than a real one? These are just some of the questions Waltz With Bashir writer/director Ari Folman asks in his new film The Congress. Loosely based on Stanisław Lem’s speculative fiction classic The Futurological Congress, Folman’s film follows an aging actress, played by Robin Wright, who sells her digital likeness to a movie studio, with unforeseen consequences. Expanding on Waltz With Bashir’s striking animation, The Congress plunges viewers into a kaleidoscopic dream-world in which Wright’s virtual self is buffeted by a tsunami of visual styles.
Sound vague and confusing? It is. But, if what we know of the plot doesn’t make much sense (yet), at least we can say that the trailer is one of the most inventive, exciting things we’ve seen in a long time. Take a look:
The Congress is set to premier on May 15th at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
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