La prisonnière (1985) User Reviews

Let it Flow

[mcfloodhorse · 7/10 · 11 March 2008]

This short animated film from Rene Laloux opens with a distant, almost alien narrator informing us that "we've discovered a bizarre story...of two orphans who flee a world stricken by war and death...across an ash desert...to reach a city whose inhabitants have become guardians of silence" "Noise is chaos" says one of the so-called priests of this city, and "silence is order and harmony".

The meditative, atmospheric, percussive qualities of the soundtrack complement the mystical disappearing/reappearing figures of this city, which presages similar elements and moods found in 'Spirited Away'.

The animation style is comparable to that of Laloux's 'Gandahar', although some of the more psychedelic and primitive artistic qualities are more reminiscent of his 'La Planete Sauvage'.

Laloux's trademark disjointedness or "schizophrenic" style of cinema is still in tact, leaving things nicely open for interpretation. A few stunning sequences also appear, as a brilliant snowfall sequence set against the ebb and flow of some fantastic foreign ocean soon transitions into a surreal scene involving a beached whale and the erotic mysteries dwelling therein.

With the full moon shining brightly and the tide rising quickly, the two orphans are accompanied by the city's shadowy prime-mover/prisoner as they sail away at dawn. "Fortunately, order and silence don't always prevail in the end"...

A quiet and dreamy film with enough to give you cause to pause and reflect

[fishermensmell · 6/10 · 13 December 2020]

This packs a lot of concepts and memorable visuals into its short running time. Narratively, it is presented as a fragment of some greater untold story about a war-torn world and the story is very simple, if bewildering, but seems to carry a message in support of liberty and freedom.

Enigmatic and dream-like short

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 22 March 2013]

Two orphans cross the desert and arrive at a strange city. The ocean comes. Snow falls. The sea retreats, a giant whale is left behind dead before the gates of the city. Like a Trojan horse, out from it at night comes a host of beautiful naked women who open the gates and let in the sea. The orphans sail away.

René Laloux has created a very enigmatic feature here. It's all about atmosphere and mood. The ambient soundtrack accentuates the strange dream-like feeling. It has elegance, even if it is difficult to truly understand. The fact there is no dialogue and only a little voice-over adds to the uncertainty. It's quite similar to Laloux's most famous work Fantastic Planet in art style and moodiness. Very short but worth seeing.

Unappealing overall

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 30 July 2016]

"La prisonnière" or "The Captive" is a French animated short film from 1988, so this one will have its 30th anniversary two years from now. It is a collaboration by Philippe Caza (who drew the comic this is based on) and René Laloux, a successful and prolific French animation filmmaker. It runs for only 6.5 minutes and takes us on the journey of two children to a desolate island that keeps a secret hidden. i must say this film did very little for me. The atmospheric aspect was fine and I also liked some of the animation, but the story as well as the character animation were big letdowns here in my opinion. A deal-breaker why I did not really like the film. I also felt it tried to be too significant for its runtime and talent at times, which made it look pretty bizarre in my opinion. Spoken language is almost non-existent, but if you want to understand it all and don't speak French, then make sure you get a good set of subtitles. Or just skip the film, you really aren't missing much.

Beautiful

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 29 March 2022]

The final short of René Laloux.

Pretty much like the rest of his work, this animation feels like taking a glimpse to an alternate world, with its own rules, resulting in a very imaginative and stylish film.