"There are plenty of wonders in the world, but there aren’t any bigger than man." Cropping up unexpectedly in a sequence from Cédric Jimenez’s ebullient movie Dog 51 [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film], which was unveiled out of competition in the Venice Film Festival’s closing slot and which is due for release in French cinemas on 15 October courtesy of StudioCanal, this quote from Greek playwright Sophocles perfectly highlights the context of the world depicted in Laurent Gaudé’s novel of the same name, which is set in 2045, which is speeding towards dehumanisation and which the director has adapted into a testosterone-fuelled film.

With checkpoints dividing Paris into three zones (a destitute area dotted with shantytowns and housing projects, a comfortable "normality" sector, and Ile Saint-Louis for the mega-privileged), population control via electronic identification bracelets, swarms of armed surveillance and intervention drones, and an artificial intelligence system called Alma overseeing the whole thing (and even offering up crime resolution scenarios), this security regime with clandestine Anonymous-style opponents which is headed up by the elusive John Mafram (Louis Garrel), is accused by the powers that be (in the form of the Minister for the Interior, played by Romain Duris) of assassinating Alma’s creator. The investigation for this murder is entrusted to Salia (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Zem (Gilles Lellouche), two police officers based in zones 2 and 3 respectively. From clues to suspicions of corruption and from car chases to shootouts, the duo learn to like one another and veer from dangerous discoveries to the realisation that an immense threat hangs over their society…

Packed full of amphetamines, Dog 51 delivers one thunderous episode after another at top speed (with a solid mise en scène approach and ever so slightly intrusive music) and successfully reconstructs a credible futuristic urban landscape whilst furtively borrowing a variety of ingredients from classic films in this genre (notably Blade Runner and Minority Report). But whilst this ongoing emphasis on tension and punchiness (the physical side of which suits the two main actors perfectly) does translate into an effective spectacle of pure entertainment, the movie’s break-neck pace (and potentially the density of the story, packed into 1 hour 46 minutes) ultimately prevents the film from developing its characters (especially the secondary ones) and from creating a subtler atmosphere which might have helped it move beyond a work of distraction, albeit brilliantly orchestrated (almost in computer game style) to the tune of 42 million euros. It’s a drawback which is unlikely to impede its success in cinemas, but which is nevertheless a cause for some regret because the director’s initial intention to adapt the best of American sci-fi cinema using a European approach, had so many basic points going for it, which have unfortunately slipped through the net.

Dog 51 was produced by Chi-Fou-Mi Productions in co-production with France 2 Cinéma, StudioCanal (with the latter also steering world sales), Jim Films, and Belgian firm Artémis Productions.