Chiasmus cult cinema trailers - "The 5th Element" (1997). *These will be ongoing posts, courtesy of the A.Glass DVD collection. As I offer via Chiasmus Cult trailers, my summarized overviews*

 

The French can be credited for many things, but one thing that is undeniably to their credit, particularly in the mid to late 1970s was the impact French science fiction had on the creative world, which essentially gave us the dystopian future landscape.  That being the old is new of retrofitted cities, with all their grot, grime and crime ala the incredible 1970s and 1980s adult comic  Métal Hurlant achieved with it art, storytelling and sophistication of portraying the risque in science fiction.  And the "5th Element" (1997), written and directed by Luc Besson, encapsulates that spirit of the French counterculture science fiction of the mentioned eras, like no other movie to date. 

Devised by Besson when he was in his mid teens, and by his early 30s, in 1991, he compiled 400 pages of a manuscript/screenplay, with ambitions to began production with the years that followed, to create a renewed tale of the Dystopian concept, aligned more with what Besson was familiar with, via the lush artwork of the late Jean Giraud, who melded a futuristic setting inspired by Art Nouveau, Art Deco buildings, decor and fashion.  Besson ramped up the production costs to $90 million (US) to portray the 5th Element's comic book look and feel and by 1995 pre-production begun, under the 129 year old French film company Gaumont, whilst securing Bruce Willis to be the main protagonist in the movie, as "Korben Dallas".  A love sick, ex-special forces soldier, now a 'flying' cab driver, living in a tiny one person apartment with his white cat, within a 23rd Century New York City.  Kinda like, and in Métal Hurlant lore, and possibly inspired, subtly, by Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1978), which very much had an impact on the French writers and comic book artists, on how New York City was portrayed to the world, busted, crime ridden and not a good place to live for the socially inept.  However, a great setting for science fiction stories and art, in the years that followed.  

Yet, the influences of the 5th Element to another dystopia cult classic "Blade Runner" (1982), also inspired by French science fiction comics, sits somewhat opposite each other on the 'dystopian' scale, at least in visualisation.  The 5th Element has a sardonic, self mockery of a dystopic future as a bright, stylized place (although, with a lot of rubbish strewn about its broken buildings) and very fashionable (thanks to iconic fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who created 900 costumes for the production), as opposed to Blade Runner's dark, rain soaked future in retrofitted ruin.     

Besson also focused on the esoteric and fantasy driven elements as the main story template for The 5th Element, that every 5000 years, a malevolent alien entity, seen as a fiery small planet, will attempt to kill off the human race.  Where the human friendly custodians of peace in the Universe, the "Mondoshawans", clunky, machine like aliens, warn in 1914, an esoterical order of priests, that evil is about to return.  And only the "5th Element", a perfect being, can protect Earth, whilst placed inside a configuration of stones that represent the Four Elements.  Fast Forward into the 23rd Century and a cause and effect chain of events, leads the 5th Element, played by Milla Jovovich, jumping off a building trying to escape the police, falling into the cab of "Korban Dallas".  He then becomes her protector, and, of course, her lover, which turns the 5th Element into?   Spoiler: "Love".  Thus, many action sequences later, and a lot of bad guys/and aliens killed, by Dallas, Earth and the human race are saved.

The 5th Element may will indeed be a movie about consumerism, rampant capitalism and corruption, whilst portraying Jovovich's character as a sexy, yet vulnerable saviour, who, towards the end of them movie doubts why the human race is worth saving at all.  But, overall as a production, Besson's bet at brightening up the dystopia film genre, paid off, the movie globally was a blockbuster, cashing in over $200 million (US) at the box office.  It is also a very European styled production, with that Jazzy, Middle Eastern/French soundtrack and its gender bender fashion throughout.  And, if you know your fashion industry trivia, The 5th Element is filled with ex-runway models from the late 1990s.

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(A.Glass 2025)

All CHIAMUS Cult Cinema trailers/commentary to date: chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/search/label/Chiasmus%20cult%20cinema