SimonJack
Joined Dec 2007
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"The Fifth Element" could be considered a sci-fi of sci-fi. By that I mean that it packs just about everything imaginable of fantasy, science fiction, and futuristic projection into one film. Having just watched it again, after first seeing it in the theater in 1997, I'll stick with my 8 ranking that I had given it in the past.
This film has more to it than a straight sci-fi or a horror sci-fi with ugly monsters. It has its creatures, admittedly pretty tame by sci-fi standards. But this film has some romance and more than a little light comedy in Bruce Willis' leading character. And, some also in one or two others, although the Ruby Rhod character comes close to irritating until near the end.
And, there is the normal overtone of good and evil, the good guys and the bad. Some critics and published reviewers said they saw other social or moral aspects of the film. But writer and director Luc Besson didn't give credence to those. When it comes to certain types of film - sci-fi, adventure, action and Westerns especially, writers and producers often don't have morals or deep lessons or messages in their films. Indeed, according to articles about Besson, he began writing the story to make this sci-fi film as a young teenager.
I hadn't read much about the film when it first came out. I was one of the many people who just went to see it and to be entertained by the science fiction of the plot. It was interesting for me now to have read some of the background and see a video about the making of the film, with all its complexities.. And learnng that the art work came primarily from two French artists who had been famous since the mid-20th century in France for their comic books. Jean Claude Mezieres and Jean Moebius Girard were artists who had studied together and been friends and collaborators on art projects, as well as creators of various cartoon characters for comics.
This is a film that has everything imaginable about futuristic life and existence. Most people should enjoy it for that and the action, comical scenes, and slight mystery and intrigue in places. And if people want to imagine more in the film, beyond the good guys and bad guys, that's okay too.
This film has more to it than a straight sci-fi or a horror sci-fi with ugly monsters. It has its creatures, admittedly pretty tame by sci-fi standards. But this film has some romance and more than a little light comedy in Bruce Willis' leading character. And, some also in one or two others, although the Ruby Rhod character comes close to irritating until near the end.
And, there is the normal overtone of good and evil, the good guys and the bad. Some critics and published reviewers said they saw other social or moral aspects of the film. But writer and director Luc Besson didn't give credence to those. When it comes to certain types of film - sci-fi, adventure, action and Westerns especially, writers and producers often don't have morals or deep lessons or messages in their films. Indeed, according to articles about Besson, he began writing the story to make this sci-fi film as a young teenager.
I hadn't read much about the film when it first came out. I was one of the many people who just went to see it and to be entertained by the science fiction of the plot. It was interesting for me now to have read some of the background and see a video about the making of the film, with all its complexities.. And learnng that the art work came primarily from two French artists who had been famous since the mid-20th century in France for their comic books. Jean Claude Mezieres and Jean Moebius Girard were artists who had studied together and been friends and collaborators on art projects, as well as creators of various cartoon characters for comics.
This is a film that has everything imaginable about futuristic life and existence. Most people should enjoy it for that and the action, comical scenes, and slight mystery and intrigue in places. And if people want to imagine more in the film, beyond the good guys and bad guys, that's okay too.
This is a docudrama that looks at the afterlife of humans. It's based on Scripture, and on the writings and experiences of saints and mystics who had visions of purgatory and hell. The film was made in Poland, and the cast are mostly of that country. It includes background of some visionary saints such as Joan of Arc, John Vianney, John Bosco, and Teresa of Lisieux.
A central character is Polish author and mystic, Fulla (Stanfia) Horak (1909-1993). She was an atheist as a young adult, but then had a major conversion and began having apparitions. The holy ones whom she had learned about taught and showed her visions of life after death. She was most moved by visions of purgatory and terrified by visions of hell.
After her conversion, Horak helped in the Polish underground by taking food and medicine to prisoners and delivering messages. After the war she was arrested by the Soviets when Poland was made part of the USSR. She spent many years in the gulags. But she wrote of her mystical experiences, and these were first published in the underground during the war.
The film also includes scenes with still photos and film clips of two 20th century saints who had received visions of the suffering of purgatory and hell. These were about St. Faustina Kowalska of Poland (1905-1938) and St. (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina, Italy (1887-1968).
Faustina is known as the saint of the Divine Mercy. She had visions of Jesus Christ as the Divine Mercy of God, and was told to spread devotion and prayers for Divine Mercy. Padre Pio, as a young priest, received the stigmata - the wounds of Christ's crucifixion, in his hands. They were bandaged for the rest of his life. He lived most of his life in the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo in the mountains of south-central Italy. He also founded a major hospital nearby in 1956 for research and treatment of diseases and illnesses.
The purpose and message of this movie was to educate and convince people of the reality of an afterlife. And the fate that awaits those who choose the light of life or the darkness of death.
A central character is Polish author and mystic, Fulla (Stanfia) Horak (1909-1993). She was an atheist as a young adult, but then had a major conversion and began having apparitions. The holy ones whom she had learned about taught and showed her visions of life after death. She was most moved by visions of purgatory and terrified by visions of hell.
After her conversion, Horak helped in the Polish underground by taking food and medicine to prisoners and delivering messages. After the war she was arrested by the Soviets when Poland was made part of the USSR. She spent many years in the gulags. But she wrote of her mystical experiences, and these were first published in the underground during the war.
The film also includes scenes with still photos and film clips of two 20th century saints who had received visions of the suffering of purgatory and hell. These were about St. Faustina Kowalska of Poland (1905-1938) and St. (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina, Italy (1887-1968).
Faustina is known as the saint of the Divine Mercy. She had visions of Jesus Christ as the Divine Mercy of God, and was told to spread devotion and prayers for Divine Mercy. Padre Pio, as a young priest, received the stigmata - the wounds of Christ's crucifixion, in his hands. They were bandaged for the rest of his life. He lived most of his life in the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo in the mountains of south-central Italy. He also founded a major hospital nearby in 1956 for research and treatment of diseases and illnesses.
The purpose and message of this movie was to educate and convince people of the reality of an afterlife. And the fate that awaits those who choose the light of life or the darkness of death.
