I found this in a video rental store about 13 years ago under the titel Immortel, ad vitam, and have run across it once or twice since, actively looking for it. At the time, it was almost entirely unlike anything I'd ever seen before, whether French or American Sci-Fi cinema, and that stands today.
Here's the plot summary from Wikipedia:
The film takes place in New York City in late 21 century, where genetically altered humans live side by side with unaltered men and women, and where Central Park has been mysteriously encased in an "intrusion zone" where people who attempt to enter are instantly killed. A strange pyramid has appeared over the city; inside, the gods of ancient Egypt have judged Horus, one of their fellow gods, to cease his immortality.
In the city below, Jill, a young woman with blue hair, is arrested. She is not completely human; her tissues appear to be no more than a few months old according to an examining physician, although her physical form is already that of an adult. She also possesses a number of secret powers, including one that enables her to procreate with gods, though she knows nothing of this. Horus is given a limited time to interact with the humans of New York and procreate. During his search for a host body, Horus encounters Nikopol, a rebel condemned to 30 years of hibernation who, due to a mechanical accident, escapes his prison one year early.
Horus has been unsuccessful in attempting to take over the bodies of other humans; due to an incompatibility with the genetic alterations humans have undergone, the host bodies self-destruct while attempting to accommodate a god. Nikopol's body is acceptable as it has been frozen in prison/storage and not undergone the genetic changes causing the rejections. Horus takes partial control of Nikopol's body and starts looking for a woman he can mate with to provide him a son before his death sentence is carried out. When Horus/Nikopol discovers Jill, they become entangled in a web of murder and intrigue.
Watch this if you appreciate truly creative and out-there films. It's experimental, it's visually gorgeous and unique in a way that no mainstream film that leans on computer-generated imagery to this degree ever is; it is the anti-Hollywood "Sci-Fi" film. There are ancient Egyptian alien gods; blue, engineered meta-humans; main characters being possessed by said alien gods; intelligent, transgenic shark assassins, and... I'll be honest, the last time I saw it years ago, I can't be sure how much I was able to follow the story, and it's nearly impossible to find via official channels. If you get the chance, see it. It'll be worth your time whether or not you are able to fully grasp the entire story.
Note: This film is apparently a film adaptation of a French language graphic novel series by Yugoslavian-born Enki Bilal, and to me it does have the same feel of compressed story elements like a 90-minute OVA of a manga series, only with more competent cinematic execution, a larger budget, and more cinematically artistically mature storytelling.
Review by LNeroBlockedParent2020-08-08T20:55:59Z
I found this in a video rental store about 13 years ago under the titel Immortel, ad vitam, and have run across it once or twice since, actively looking for it. At the time, it was almost entirely unlike anything I'd ever seen before, whether French or American Sci-Fi cinema, and that stands today.
Here's the plot summary from Wikipedia:
Watch this if you appreciate truly creative and out-there films. It's experimental, it's visually gorgeous and unique in a way that no mainstream film that leans on computer-generated imagery to this degree ever is; it is the anti-Hollywood "Sci-Fi" film. There are ancient Egyptian alien gods; blue, engineered meta-humans; main characters being possessed by said alien gods; intelligent, transgenic shark assassins, and... I'll be honest, the last time I saw it years ago, I can't be sure how much I was able to follow the story, and it's nearly impossible to find via official channels. If you get the chance, see it. It'll be worth your time whether or not you are able to fully grasp the entire story.
Note: This film is apparently a film adaptation of a French language graphic novel series by Yugoslavian-born Enki Bilal, and to me it does have the same feel of compressed story elements like a 90-minute OVA of a manga series, only with more competent cinematic execution, a larger budget, and more cinematically artistically mature storytelling.