Ari Folman is not known for his big output. But when the Israeli director and screenwriter tackles a new project, it always comes something special out of it. The filmmaker became famous in 2008 with Waltz with Bashir, a mixture of animation and documentary.
Even more fascinating is the work he created afterwards: The Congress. In May 2013, the celebrated unusual science fiction film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Folman once again played with cinematic form, bringing together live-action scenes and animated sequences.
Exciting sci-fi vision: Robin Wright sells her digital image to Hollywood
The story of The Congress centers on actress Robin Wright (Robin Wright), whose best years in Hollywood are numbered. As a forty-year-old woman, she is no longer cast in any major productions. At that very moment, Studio Miramount approaches her with an unusual offer.
You can watch the trailer for The Congress here:
The Congress – Trailer (German) HD
Miramount wants to scan Wright’s body to get a computer generated image of the actress that can be used in films as often as desired. The studio buys the star, but the person behind the well-known name falls into oblivion. As long as the contract is in place, Wright is not allowed to make any films himself.
The Congress was inspired by Stanislaw Lem’s story The Futurological Congress from 1970. One of the most exciting aspects of the implementation is the reference to current Hollywood cinema, which Folman also incorporates. Almost ten years later, his vision is amazingly close to reality.
Digital rejuvenation and Co.: The congress has almost become a reality in Hollywood
A living Hollywood star has not yet been completely replaced. in the Age of digital rejuvenation the thought seems more plausible than ever. The prime example is young Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian. Mark Hamill was on the set and filmed his scenes. At the same time there was a double and a lot of deepfake tricks.
Lucasfilm scans the faces of all the actors who play a central role in the star saga. Star Wars 9 brought back Carrie Fisher after her death. In the conclusion of the Skywalker saga, she was briefly seen as Leia Organa for the last time. And Rogue One showed us the late Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin.
Star Wars also introduced us to the Respeecher technology. This is an AI software with which Clone voices by algorithms to let. James Earl Jones is credited as the voice of Darth Vader in the Obi-Wan credits. We don’t know whether he really added new lines of text.
The Congress anticipated all of these developments with its mind game. 2019 would even be Folman’s view of the future almost surpassed, when a CGI clone of James Dean was set to lead the war film Finding Jack. There were strong protests. The project has not yet been implemented.
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How did you like The Congress?