CANNES – Unless you’re well-versed in French-language graphic novels, you may not know the name Ugo Bienvenu, but if you are a lover of near-future Science Fiction, you will soon. After years of development, the critically lauded graphic artist has made his feature directorial debut with “Arco,” an imaginative and often moving animated wonder.
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The movie begins in the far future. How far is unclear, but we’re quickly introduced to the title character, a young boy who lives in what seems like an idyllic home in the sky. As he entertains himself in his family’s garden, his mother, father, and sister fly out of rainbows in the clouds as though they are magical wizards arriving to bestow gifts. We soon learn they have traveled back to prehistoric times, where they have collected a plant that can assist them in their “present” era. Things seem ideal, but the human race is gonna human race. Like a child in any era, Arco is jealous of his sister bragging about seeing a triceratops dinosaur in person, something our hero was unable to do because he’s under the legal age to travel through time. When his family falls asleep, he steals her robe and the crystal needed to fly back in time. With so little experience, he understandably gets lost.
In 2075, 10-year-old Iris is living in a suburb where homes are protected by bubbles from increasingly harrowing environmental disasters such as massive windstorms or sweeping firestorms. Sentient robots have taken over many key responsibilities. Mikki, the robot for Iris’ family, is immediately shown as having a loving relationship not only with her but her baby brother. Iris’ parents, however, are only visible via holographic communication. Whatever their responsibilities are, they are too busy to leave the office in a far-off town to return home every night.
Skipping out of her elementary school class, Iris sees a mysterious rainbow crash in the nearby forest. That’s where she finds Arco, who is unconscious and bleeding from his rough landing. Also in the woods are Dougie, Stewie, and Frankie, three eccentrics on the hunt to find the flying rainbow figure. This trio first saw a traveler like Arco 20 years prior and have spent their lives not only trying to prove their childhood memory true, but also another rider.
Iris saves Arco from these goofballs and brings him to the relative safety of her home. As the film progresses, a friendship blossoms, and Iris needs to determine how far she’ll go to help Arco get home.
This scenario unfolds in the context of the dreaded “worldbuilding,” an aspect of “Arco” which demonstrates Bienvenu’s vivid imagination. The 2075 era isn’t necessarily a utopia, but it’s decidedly closer than the world we’re living in today. Elementary school classrooms take place in virtual spaces, which allow the students to explore the lesson (think “Star Trek’s” holodeck). Iris’ parents appear as holograms in such a realistic manner that you often begin to wonder if Iris and her brother are being hoodwinked by Mikki and the robots, and they are no longer alive (spoiler: they are). The robots, whose designs have appeared in years of Bienvenu’s work, are benevolent and kind (even the police models). Yes, this era is suffering from massive environmental calamities, but when the sun is out, it’s a pretty great time to be alive.
And while the far, far future may lack any hint of nightlife or community outside the family unit, Bienvenu admirably proposes an ideal of nature and technology existing in simultaneous harmony. Oh, and the ability to float in space to sleep is just one example of his inspired creativity.
First-time filmmaker mistakes appear here and there, however. The stakes are real for both Arco and Iris. There is seemingly an impending sense of dread, but the eccentric trio is so goofy, so unthreatening, that they are almost unsettling as characters. For the most part, their narrative thread sucks the tension out of every scene they are in. They simply aren’t needed and become a strange distraction.
When “Arco” comes to its inevitable “E.T.” Inspired conclusion, the wondrous score by Arnaud Toulon may have you this close to shedding a tear. And you’ll wonder if this future is truly only an animated dream. [B+/B]
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