#7. Eden Log [2009]

France [Imperia Films/Bac Films/Magnolia]101m Directed by : Franck Vestiel Music by : Jerome Wiciak Cinematography : Thierry Pouget Starring : Clovis Cornillac, Vimala Pons Release Date : December 26, 2007 [France], February 13, 2009 [US]

Eden Log is a 2007 science fiction film directed and co-written by Franck Vestiel. The film was Vestiel's first as a director, who shot the entire film using only hand-held cameras. The story follows Tolbiac (Clovis Cornillac) after he wakes up naked and disoriented in an underground cave, not knowing how he arrived there. Reviews were generally positive towards the film, which received an aggregated score of 60% from Rotten Tomatoes. In North America, it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2008.

Synopsis
A man wakes up deep inside a cave. Suffering amnesia, he has no recollection of how he came to be here or of what happened to the man whose body he finds beside him. Tailed by a mysterious creature, he must continue through this strange and fantastic world. Enclosed, Tolbiac has no other option to reach the surface than to use REZO ZERO, secret observing cells in this cemetery-like abandoned mine. He embarks upon this journey guided by the roots of a plant, leading the way and the main subject of attention of the REZO.

This is the story of the rise of a forgotten man, sometimes informed by the archives of abandoned laboratories, which punctuate this subterranean network and at other times by his own strangely amplified instinct. During his search for the surface, Tolbiac must uncover the secret of what once lived in this network; but has this "mystery" truly left?



The film was Franck Vestiel's first as a director. Eden Log uses a muted palette. The film is shot with only hand-held cameras in underground locations 60 feet (18 m) below the surface, as well as in a sewer. A gray and blue multilevel set is used in Eden Log, which, according to Vestiel, was designed to "avoid the look of the usual science fiction future. The last thing I wanted was for Eden Log to fall into the trap of those science fiction films where the characters live in super-sterile, bathroom-like environments. And I did not want people to be able to date the film by identifying the technology, which is why I have no apparatuses, no dials, no buttons." The surrealistic landscapes of Eden Log were inspired by Vestiel's favorite films, such as Escape From New York and Dawn of the Dead, and comics and literature, such as Frank Miller's Daredevil and Screaming Metal.

Eden Log receives an aggregated score of 60% from Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews. The Toronto International Film Festival described the film as a "stunning sci-fi vision", in which Vestiel "created a decaying universe for his bewildered yet resourceful hero to explore". They noted that Eden Log appears to have been influenced by role-playing games and the works of Luc Besson, Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Darren Aronofsky, as well as channeling the "rich visual history of French comics, or bandes dessinées, from magazines like Métal Hurlant and its American counterpart, Heavy Metal". Chris Cabin of Film Critic credited the film for its first 20 minutes of attention-grabbing action, but notes that the journey that Tolbiac takes is "more suited that of a video game programmer than a young filmmaker". Cabin wrote that the film does not emotionally connect with the viewer, and he gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars.Variety remarked that the film is "bold", despite rehashing some cinematic qualities and sound design, concluding that the film "the most bang for limited bucks, with an eye-popping finale.

Official Websites : France [http://www.bacfilms.com/site/edenlog]
US [http://www.sixshooterfilmseries.com/edenlog]