The Congress

Bold, beautiful and absolutely bonkers, "The Congress," director Ari Folman's follow-up to his award-winning documentary, "Waltz with Bashir," is one of the most audacious films to be released in 2014. It's also one of the most underrated; a cautionary sci-fi tale that blends live-action with gorgeously wacked-out animation throughout its complex exploration of corruption in Hollywood, philosophical theses and communistic dystopian societies.

Robyn Wright stars as a fictionalized version of herself, in one of the best performances of her career. The opening shot gazes into her sorrowful eyes, which are flooded with tears, as her agent Al (Harvey Keitel) condescendingly lectures her about all of the supposedly bad decisions she's made throughout her life as an actress.

Soon, Robyn is offered a contract in which she'll be offered one last job, in which she'll be completely digitized by the head of Miramount studios (Danny Huston) and the corporation can use her image to create a version of herself to be controlled in whatever ways they please. In addition to this, she'll also never be able to act again. Appalled by the proposition, but desperate for the finances she'll receive to care for her ailing son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who's slowly going deaf, she accepts the proposal and is whisked away into a warped, animated dreamscape where she is to remain for the rest of her existence, and the consequences of her decision begin to haunt her in more ways than one.

As one can tell from the premise alone, "The Congress" will certainly not be for everyone's tastes. It's trippy, confusing and undoubtedly messy, to the point where the film almost has too many provocative ideas swimming within its ingenious stew of ideologies, and not all of them are fully fleshed out.

Still, for all of its flaws, this is a rich, marvelous film that deserves to be seen for its fearless creativity, eye-popping visuals, and stimulating political allegories, all anchored by its profound lead performance by Robyn Wright, whose work here is a revelation. Few films dare to take such brave chances, and in a world where movies are comprised mainly of franchises, sequels and spin-offs lacking nearly a single original idea, "The Congress" is a viscerally alive piece of cinema that will simultaneously blow your mind and break your heart.

The special features include an audio commentary with Ari Folman, an interview with Robyn Wright, a 30-second TV spot, and theatrical trailers.

"The Congress"
Blu-ray
$20.99
http://drafthousefilms.com/film/the-congress