Chrysalis (film)

Chrysalis
Directed by	Julien Leclercq
Produced by	Franck Chorot
Written by	Julien Leclercq Nicolas Peufaillit Franck Philippon Aude Py
Starring	Albert Dupontel
Music by	Jean-Jacques Hertz François Roy
Cinematography	Thomas Hardmeier
Editing by	Thierry Hoss
Distributed by	Gaumont
Release date(s)	31 October 2007 (France)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Chrysalis is a French science fiction film directed and partly written by Julien Leclercq and starring Albert Dupontel. The film was commercially released in France on 31 October 2007.

Premise

In 2025 in Paris, police lieutenant David Hoffman investigates the circumstances behind the body of a young girl named Manon, who was resurrected after a car crash and now has scars around her eyes. Hoffman finds a link between the murderer and smuggler Dimitri Nicolov, who is blamed by the lieutenant for the death of Hoffman's wife. Hoffman's investigation leads him to a state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinic whose goal is to go beyond skin and flesh to shape memory and identity.

Cast

• Albert Dupontel as David Hoffman, a police lieutenant
• Estelle Lefébure
• Marie Guillard
• Marthe Keller as Professor Brügen, who runs a state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinic
• Mélanie Thierry as Manon, a captive patient at the clinic
• Alain Figlarz as Dimitri Nicolov, a smuggler

Production

Chrysalis is the first feature film directed by French filmmaker Julien Leclercq. The film continues a contemporary cyberpunk trend in French cinema, following Enki Bilal's Immortal (2004) and Christian Volckman's Renaissance (2006), preceding Franck Vestiel's Eden Log (2007) and Marc Caro's Dante 01 (2008). Chrysalis incorporates film noir and is influenced by Franco-Belgian comics. The film is considered a homage to Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face (1960).^[1]

Release

Chrysalis premiered at the French film festival Lille La Nuit on 25 June 2007.^[2] The film later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2007.^[1] It was commercially distributed in France in 31 October 2007. It was released on DVD on 9 June 2008.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "TIFF '07 - Chrysalis". Toronto International Film Festival. http://www.tiff07.ca/filmsandschedules/filmdetails.aspx?ID=705291509481386. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
2. ^ "Avant première lundi 25 juin de Chr..." (in French). Lilla la Nuit.com. 2007-06-21. http://www.lillelanuit.com/fiche_actu/Avant_premiere_lundi_25_juin_de_Chrysalis-165.html. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Teaser trailer
• "Making of" video
• Film review at Variety
• Chrysalis at the Internet Movie Database