Abstract
Renaissance (2006) and Metropia (2009) are two illustrative examples of European cyberpunk cinema of the 2000s. This article will consider the films as representative of contemporary trends in European popular filmmaking. As digital animations aimed at adult audiences and co-produced with other European countries, they epitomise a type of European film. In addition, they share a number of narrative premises. Set in the near future, Renaissance and Metropia depict a dystopian Europe. Recycling motifs from non-European science fiction classics, they share similar concerns with interconnectivity, surveillance, immigration, class, the representation of women, as well as the obsession with beauty and physical perfection. This article will analyse their themes and aesthetics in order to explore how European popular cinema promotes a certain idea of European cultural identity within the limits of an industry whose products are targeted at a global market.
Highlights
Science fiction has hardly been a prominent genre within the European film industry1
The film industries of the USA and Japan have, notably, managed to successfully fund, brand and distribute films of this kind internationally for decades and many of the most popular examples since the 1980s can be classed as ‘cyberpunk.’ Drawing on the themes and plots of those works of literature categorised under the same subgenre, cyberpunk cinema has significantly flourished in the United States thanks to films like Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990)
European cyberpunk cinema made in the 2000s is not dramatically different from its American or Japanese counterparts
Summary
Science fiction has hardly been a prominent genre within the European film industry. Examples of cyberpunk films with exclusively European funding include Nirvana (Gabriele Salvatores 1997, Italy), Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes, Alejandro Amenábar 1997, Spain) and, more recently, Immortel (Immortal, Enki Bilal 2004, France/Italy/UK), Renaissance (Christian Volckman 2006, France, Luxemburg/UK), Chrysalis (Julien Leclercq 2007, France) and Metropia (Tarik Saleh 2009, Sweden/Denmark/Norway)3 Few of these films have been included in larger discussions about science fiction cinema. Though desirable, it is not within the scope of this article to offer a comprehensive survey of European cyberpunk. The films borrow stylistic and narrative elements from certain classic films (in particular Blade Runner) and genres (science fiction, film noir and thriller) They retain an inherently European look while being valuable examples of popular cinema. I will analyse the specific articulations of cyberpunk in a European cinematic context starting with a metatextual analysis of Renaissance and Metropia, looking at their narrative and stylistic elements and commenting briefly on their reception
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