Film Discussion: The Congress

Last year, after nearly five years of work, Ari Folman brought a film version of Lem’s story to the festival circuit where it was snapped up for distribution. The hero of the story is now an actress, played by Robin Wright. Wright plays an aging actress who allows herself to be digitized, with the proviso that her movie studio can use her digital image however it wants for 20 years, at which point, she will get to either renew her contract or take back her identity.

What could possibly go wrong? Especially when there are hallucinations involved?

Folman’s film will tell you exactly what goes wrong, with a combination of live action moviemaking and about an hour of old-fashioned hand-drawn animation.

The Congress has an amazing cast (besides Wright, the cast includes Harvey Keitel and Paul Giamatti) and has been enthusiastically reviewed by critics.

For those who, like me, are old-line science fiction nuts, The Congress will be meat and potatoes. And anyone out there who remembers Folman’s first film, Waltz with Bashir, will want to see what this unique and thoughtful animator and filmmaker is up to.

Interested? You can get both the amazing film and a full discussion by attending Tuesday night’s showing of The Congress at The Music Hall Loft at 7:00.

I hope to see you there.

Paul Goodwin
TMHMG