Customer Reviews

Nirvana

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the tradition of The Crimson Rivers and Druids, this French language film loses something in the translation. But the idea is novel, even if it has been used before. It's not a great Lambert film, but's it worth it for die-hard fans.

The film follows Jimi Dini (Lambert) - a computer game programer, who's latest game is infected with a virus. The result - the game's main character get's a mind of his own and realizes that nothing's real, even him. He begs Lambert to destroy the game, so Lambert sets out on a journey through a futuristic Europe to do so. Also, Lambert is looking for his long lost love, and he also wants to shut down the big computer corporation that runs everything.
As I said the film is hurt in translation - and you don't always have a clear idea of what is going on. But the visuals are often stunning thanks to director Gabriele Salvatores and cinematographer Italo Petriccione, so that helps you through the story.

I know this is quite a claim, but I think this film gets Cyberpunk by the book. If you have read and enjoyed "Neuromancer" by Gibson, or "La última calle de la soledad" by Porcayo, you will know what cyberpunk is, and this film gets the essence very well.

The corporation, the sentient program, the hacker, the lost love, the friend, the cyber-prothesis, the well-known brands; everything is where it should. And the soundtrack is just great on its own.

And Matrix owns a lot to this film. I just would've wanted it to be in it's original language.

This is a more low-key SF thriller in cyberpunk mode. Jimi has created a brilliant computer game, called Nirvana. However, one of his characters have developed sentinence, and wants to get out.
In a way, the world of Nirvana is grimmer than that of the Matrix, since it so much more believable, with megacorporations with their own laws and those outside of the corporations, and, hence, outside of the system, live in squalid but vibrant undercity complexes or travel around with portable cyberconnections.
The acting is superb with Christoph Lambert as a very credible burnt out hacker that just wants to be reunited with his dead wife.
This realesa of this minor masterpiece is long overdue. It takes a little while for the film to get started, but when it does - it does it with a vengeance.

I sometimes will look past the lack of studio refinement or finish, purely because I enjoy the final product and can care less for the bells and whistles, this being one of those films. I'm a big fan of Johnny Mnemonic (cheese factor and all), the Matrix films, William Gibson books, and even Cyber wars aka Avatar. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an Italian Cyberpunk film with dubbing. First off let me say the quality is much better than expected video wise, the Italian version of the film does however have a little bit better pacing, better music, and another 17 or so minutes tacked onto the film. It fleshes the movie out a little more, and there is more emotion in the acting due to it not being dubbed.

The movie starts off with a somber Christopher Lambert (Jimi Dini), a video game programmer who's wife had left him months prior. Jimi is in a very bad mood from the get go, all the while a virus has gotten into his latest video game pre-release and has made the main character in the game self aware. Jimi now goes on a little trip to stop the title from being released so that the character can be put to rest and not have to repeat the same sequences for the rest of his virtual life. Jimi also wants to track down his estranged wife and find out where she is and what happened to her. Along the way he will make friends with Solo (a man with cyber eyes and a penchant for spending Jimi's cash), and Naima(a blue haired hacker with a sweet demeanor). While tracking down his wife and trying to break into the company that he works for to delete the now infected game, Jimi will also go on a sort of journey to obtain inner peace, hence the title of both the movie and the video game in the film.

If you don't mind that this film lacks Hollywood polish, but enjoy the Cyberpunk genre, then this should be right up your alley. The tie in between the Cyberspace world, and the real world's closure and obtaining a higher spiritual level in yourself is a nice touch. This movie will not destroy the Matrix trilogy, or make Blade Runner a piece of junk. But it will make you think differently about the correlation between worlds, and the story should keep you fairly entertained.

It's most definitely a favorite of mine in either the English or Italian format. I would give it a solid B+ on a grade scale.

I like Christopher Lambert and have most of his films but this one was a total waste.
To begin the sound was obviously dubbed in and done badly at that. Most of the actors were not speaking english and it showed. those who were did not have the sound track in synk with the dialouge.
Second the story made little sense as it jumped around to much. I suppose if all you want is mindless action you might enjoy this but I prefer a good story with something to say. To this I say don't bother.