CONGRESS, The

The only way Robin Wright can succeed in Hollywood's technicolour cesspit is to sell herself... literally.

Ari Folman's follow-up to the heartrending rotoscoped war meditation Waltz With Bashir (MIFF 2008) is an audacious metaphysical sci-fi satire: a live action set-up that goes down the rabbit hole of looney animation part-way through.

Based on a novel by Solaris author Stanislaw Lem, The Congress sees Robin Wright playing Robin Wright, an actress with diminishing options in a savage and surreal movie business. When her agent (Harvey Keitel) delivers an ultimatum, Wright's only choice is to sell her very identity. Plunged into a lurid Orwellian future, she must rediscover herself, with the help of her personal animator (voiced by Jon Hamm) and human doctor (Paul Giamatti).

The Congress erupts with ideas, proving Folman a formidable creative force in our real-world film industry.

"[A] visionary work … it's lyrical and mysterious, contemplating age-old sci-fi questions (of artificial intelligence, of perception versus reality) while grafting them onto a commentary about the changing nature of movies." – Ben Kenigsberg for RogerEbert.com

D/S Ari Folman P Reinhard Brundig, Ari Folman WS The Match Factory TD DCP/2013