STACK #157 Nov 2017

DVD&BD FEATURE

visit stack.com.au

Valerian and the City of aThousand Planets is the French director’s return to the idiosyncratic and extravagant form of genre filmmaking that turned his 1997 sci-fi opus The Fifth Element into a cult classic. Words: Scott Hocking B ased on the French comic book series Valerian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude with investigating a threat at the heart of Alpha Station – an intergalactic hub where thousands of alien species pool their knowledge and resources. Luc Besson’s lifelong love affair with

To bring his beloved comic book to the screen, Besson was forced to wait until visual effects technology was sufficiently advanced enough to do the source material justice. He credits Avatar with providing that quantum leap, and also notes that he needed a wealth of experience behind him before taking the plunge on such an FX-heavy project. “ Lucy helped me – it had five or six hundred special effects shots. So I felt ready and had the courage to do it. To go there you need to be courageous. It’s not the typical big studio Hollywood film; it’s totally different, not even in the same category. You go into unknown territories, and you need to have the guts to go and do it. “I really took my time and made sure everything worked together. It was a journey of seven years, and I really had the feeling that I went to space for those seven years.” Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a supernova of visual creativity,

Mézières, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets follows a pair of 28 th century space agents who are tasked

Valerian and Laureline began at the tender age of ten, with the comics providing the escapism he craved while growing up in the countryside with only one TV channel. “This little comic book, every Wednesday, was my only way to escape,” he recalls. “It was an open window to space – two space agents travelling through time and space. It was just amazing. Especially that fact they were a couple, a guy and a girl. It was new and fresh at the time. “The themes were amazing – living together, respecting others, respecting the planet. When you’re ten years old it’s like a knife into butter, you know? They were important in my life.

“Laureline is probably my first crush,” he laughs. “It was very platonic at the time, but I was in love with her. She was amazing.”

jbhifi.com.au

NOVEMBER 2017

016