We are so used to seeing the virtual reality depicted in films such as MatrixIN Virtue (Forgotten classics of the 90s) and Man for lawn mowersIt is really surprising to see something, which applies to VR potentially positively. In Flora Lau LuzThe premiere of which took place at the Sundance Film Festival this week, the VR has no big drawbacks, this is just another way to connect people. And in the case of two lonely leads of the film, an employee of the Ren art gallery (Sandrin Pinna) and Pseudo-Gangster Wei (Xiadon GO), VR serves as a life raft of human connection, which can help them find a world in a world, where the world, they both feel both yourself with the flow.
Located in modern Chunchin (a city so filled with neon and futuristic, it seems more science fiction than real) and Paris, characters in Luz Live along with the technologies familiar to us. Smartphones and only in the style of Fans Livestream with the participation of young girls are common. But equipment for virtual reality in the film, including glasses similar to a ski mask, pointed fingers that resemble the witch's nails, is a step forward at the same time, and a little behind where we are today. LuzThe name of the film, so virtual people VR World Peope, is an exciting artifact of the exciting space of reality several years ago. This was before we knew that the tracking of the fingers could be the main input in the VR/AR headset, like the Apple Vision Pro.
Ren and Wei experience the world of virtual reality Luz As an escape from their real problems, although in the end it turns out to be useless. Ren is trying to contact his stepmother Sabina (legendary Isabelle Huppert), an emotionally distant owner of the Paris Gallery, which avoids any help for a potentially fatal disease. Vei, meanwhile, is trying to reunite with his alienated daughter Fa, whom he can only see anonymously through this aforementioned direct broadcasts.
The plot lines of leadership intersect during the expedition in the game for the mysterious neon deer, which, apparently, is the closest to “win” LuzThe Wei and Ren field are reluctant to contact, and ultimately they begin to find ways to heal their emotional wounds. This is an intriguing concept, although we do not spend enough time when both characters hang out in the VR in order to fully sell their relationship.
Luz does not try to deliver the full world CG VR The finished player is one (Thank God), instead we see a hypermostilized version of the real world with an abundance of neon lights, floating particles and characters dressed as if they were going to go to Comic-Con. Obviously, this is an easier way to convey VR, but the film also depicts a version of a technology that is almost identical to the real world. If the virtual reality was really so exciting, why even worry about real connections? (Stylistically it reminds me Ghost in the sink Director Mamoru Forgotten Polish science fiction film, Avalonwho also investigated how people can reduce themselves in modeling VR.)
While Lau is going on a lot to create magnificent images of virtual reality, what really needs the film is more time for its two leaders to sit down and talk to each other, instead of us to bring emotions When they look at a distance. In just an hour and forty -two minutes there is a lot of space for a greater study of the character. But at least we conduct some intriguing conversations between Ren and Sabina, and Huppert is usually a charming self. (Perhaps the most incredible aspect of the film is that Sabina, the presence of hips on the scene of fine arts, did not try virtual reality until Ren convinced her. We saw how artists have been using virtual reality for installations since 2016, so that he is far away from the new concept.)
Luz is close to being an excellent film, with its strong performances and confidently composed cinematography. But through restraint or weak scenario, we do not always have a feeling of how the leads relate to the world, or even what they think about each other. The general approach seems too cold and distant for the film, which ultimately re -opens a human connection.