L'Autre monde (2010)
Directed by Gilles Marchand

Film Review

Film noir in Cyberspace?  Well, it had to happen...  Gilles Marchand's long-awaited follow-up to his promising debut feature Qui a tué Bambi? (2003) is another eerily off-the-wall thriller, this time tapping into real concerns about the growing social phenomenon of Cyber-living.  Here Marchand has concocted an ingenious variation on a familiar theme with co-writer Dominik Moll, who has already put his name to two similarly idiosyncratic thrillers, Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000) and Lemming (2005).  L'Autre monde (a.k.a. Black Heaven) offers a darkly compelling study in obsession that exposes the harm that lurks behind the computer display screen, in that tantalising other world in which we are, all of us, spending an increasing portion of our lives.

Marchand and Moll take the premise of the good old-fashioned film noir (the plot has more than a passing similarity to Hitchcock's Vertigo) and give it a cheekily contemporary reboot.  A young man leading an idyllic life in Marseille with his girlfriend encounters a mysterious blond bombshell and, in his desire to get to know her, ends up becoming addicted to an on-line virtual reality game.  It is in this Gothic monochrome Cyberworld that a fair chunk of the intrigue takes place, but what the hero does not realise is that every step he takes towards the object of his desire leads him ever closer towards his own death, in both the real world and its digital substitute.  So ingeniously is the narrative constructed that, in the end, the two worlds merge into one seamless reality and they assume equal importance in determining the fate of the hero.

Without labouring the point or indulging in futile moralising, the film's authors invite us to contemplate the implications and value of such a split existence.  Is it any less meaningful than one that is lived entirely in the physical world?  There are already websites (the best known being Second Life) which allow people to assume a virtual identity and live a whole new life in Cyberspace.  And there are, conceivably, individuals who spend most of their waking hours plugged into this electronic fantasy world, living a richer, more fulfilled life than they could ever hope to have in the 'real' world.  Could this be the ultimate fate for mankind - to live our whole lives (or even several lives) in a self-made reality which bends according to our needs and desires.  What was once just a far-fetched Philip K. Dick fantasy appears to be becoming a very real prospect.

What makes L'Autre monde such a beguiling and thought-provoking film is that most of the story is told from the perspective of its central character, a naive but likeable young man named Gaspard, played by Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet in his first lead role.  As is apparent from his memorable contributions to Christophe Honoré's La Belle personne (2008) and Bertrand Tavernier's La Princesse de Montpensier (2010), Leprince-Ringuet is well-suited to playing introspective characters who appear outwardly well-adjusted but inwardly are vulnerable and prey to perverse impulses.  There is clearly more to his Gaspard than initially meets the eye, and it is only when he creates his virtual avatar (a cool black dude named Gordon) that we see who he really is, or rather wants to be.  Gaspard symbolises the frustration that we feel with the mediocrity of our lives - we identify with him because, by virtue of his central part in the narrative, he becomes our own avatar.

If the main protagonist Gaspard is anchored in reality and totally believable, each of the other principal characters is an obvious archetype who looks more like something we would expect to find in a video game rather than real life.  Audrey, the Marilyn Monroe-like femme fatale has the same detached, unreal quality in both her real and virtual manifestations - a haunting evocation of the unattainable object of male desire, a mix of siren and vampire.  Her brother Vincent is a grinning troll who drips with malevolent intent, and whilst the full extent of his depravity isn't revealed until the end of the film we sense his malign presence throughout.  Even Gaspard's girlfriend Marion is too good to be true - the virtuous, happy-to-be-alive counterpoint to the self-destructive and sensual Audrey.  On paper, these three characters are nothing more than thinly sketched stereotypes, but admirably well-played by Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud and Pauline Etienne respectively they become as fascinating, if not more interesting, than the borderline nonentity who is Gaspard.

Ignore all the critics who savaged the film when it first came out in 2010 - most of them completely missed the point of it.  Directed with considerably more confidence and flair than Marchand's first film, and scripted with far greater insight, L'Autre monde is an entertaining and compelling thriller that opens a whole new canning factory of philosophical worms.   Should we be worried or heartened by the future vision it dangles in front of us like a tantalising piece of bait?   The quest for happiness is such a fundamental part of the human psyche that we could conceivably all end up being hardwired to our computers, confined to a world of our creation.  Think of it - a digital Nirvana that allows us to do and have whatever we want, free from pain, money worries and income tax.  Is this where we are all going to end up, in Cyber-paradise?

Film Synopsis

Whilst holidaying in the South of France one summer, teen lovers Gaspard and Marion find a mobile phone which contains a series of cryptic messages.  Gaspard becomes intrigued by the bizarre exchanges between Sam and Dragon and soon realises that he has stumbled across a sinister on-line computer game.  Sam turns out to be Audrey, an attractive young woman who is looking for a partner in a suicide pact.  Determined to save Audrey, Gaspard assumes a false identity and begins to take part in the game, Black Hole.  Little does he know that he has fallen into a trap, and that someone is deftly guiding him towards his death...