I recently got all excited by the concept of Nwiflsif. Pronounced New-Wiffle-Swif, and standing for New Wave of Foreign Language Science Fiction, this is in celebration of the recent trend (if you consider three a trend) of low budget, smart sci-fi flicks from outside the US. The pillars of this group (which, if no one else carries the ball on this, I will promptly stop talking about) are Nacho Vigalondo’s marvelous Timecrimes, Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer and Marc Caro’s Dante 01.
Vigalondo and Rivera are newcomers, but if Caro’s name sounds familiar it is because you’ve seen his work before. Before Jean-Pierre Jeunet was Jean-Pierre Jeunet he was half of the filmmaking team Jeunet et Caro. He is considered to be the chief visual architect behind Delicatessen and City of Lost Children. He did some production design work on Alien Ressurection, but that was a straight-up Jeunet joint and, since then, the two have gone their separate ways.
Dante 01 concerns a space lab where experiments are done on (somewhat) willing prisoners. A new scientist and non-verbal subject dock and all kinds of biopunk horror ensue. Every religious or historical signifier is thrown into this boiling pot as we orbit a ball of fire. Watch your head or you’ll crash into bulkheads of symbolism.
We had the good fortune to speak, via email and a translator, with Monsieur Caro. Below is a transcription.
Jordan Hoffman: What are your favorite sci-fi movies?
Marc Caro: Le Voyage dans la Lune by Georges Melies in 1902 and the American remake by NASA in July 1969.
Jordan Hoffman: Was there any cultural mythology missing from this film? There were Christian tropes, Hindu tropes, references to all sorts of world history. Anything you wanted to fit in but couldn't?
Marc Caro: Maybe some specific ritual from Inuit shamanism.
Jordan Hoffman: Did you go into epileptic fits when you were cutting the ending to Dante 01? [Note: it is very flashy.]
Marc Caro: I am quite all right but some people from the editor's crew are still in treatment.
Jordan Hoffman: A frank question - why was the station orbiting a desolate, flaming planet? Seems a little unsafe.
Marc Caro: Of course but the orbital station have problem with heater.
Jordan Hoffman: Do you think you could will yourself to swim through boiling water to save others, as in the film, if it meant everyone would die anyway if no one did it?
Marc Caro: I have to ask to my boiled egg...
Jordan Hoffman: Now that you have directed solo, do you ever see yourself stepping back and just doing art direction again?
Marc Caro: God’s will told me what to do...
Jordan Hoffman: I imagine the set was pretty intense. Did anyone get claustrophobic and freak out?
Marc Caro: No... we have good neuroleptics in the food...
Jordan Hoffman: What are planning on doing next?
Marc Caro: I am still hesitating to open an ashram or a pizzeria...
Jordan Hoffman: Would you rather visit the future or the past?
Marc Caro: The present will be sufficient...
Dante 01 is currently available in the US on DVD.
