Monday, May 20, 2013

The Wright Experiment

You better pray Ari Folman’s (Waltz with Bashir) take on Stanislaw Lem’s comedic sci-fi novella The Futurological Congress, The Congress convenes at your local multiplex art house.

The experimental-vibing film starring Robin Wright about Robin Wright – or, well...a version of Robin Wright – premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last week, and it looks hella intriguing.

Like, I held off watching the trailer for like, two days, but then I did, and from the first shot I was engrossed.

This is a film in which Wright gets to play up just about everything that has been said about her as an actress. It’s a film that acknowledges her early-on choice to give up superstardom in favor or...something else, and then, later on, has her come back into the fold to reclaim her rightful place in the spotlight (for an oh-so-selfless reason), only to be offered instead the chance to become...free.

My, that sounds awesome, right? Except to become free, Wright must give everything of herself.

The Congress seems to be a meditation on fame, on being a woman in Hollywood, on age, on identity, and on the lengths to which an artist will go to reach an audience and whether these choices will warrant the end result.

Doesn’t sound like we’d be covering new territory, except Folman has Robin Wright doing this, and his choice of lead is an inspired one, for she’s always been like, this captivating being to me. This film is surreal commentary on a most surreal life that has long peeked my curiosity.

The Congress is set to premiere in France in July, and by the time this goes live will be well on its way to snagging a distributor for a stateside release.

Photo: Haaretz.com.

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