Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

rooprect This one of the bluest movies I've ever seen. You thought "Sleepy Hollow" was blue? You thought Soderbergh's "Solaris" was blue? Well hang on to your bonnet because this movie makes them look like "The Wizard of Oz". If you're looking for a blue movie then look no further than "Chrysalis".Set in a tense future, Paris in the year 2025, this film is very stylish and gritty. The director sought to create a future vision that's not quite dystopian yet definitely not full of rainbows & unicorns. It is a very claustrophobic, psychological story that progresses on 2 levels. The first level is the straightforward action/thriller/scifi part: a rogue Paris cop is hunting down the killer who ruined his life. The 2nd level is a very human (yet equally tense) story about a woman who is reconnecting with her daughter after a terrible accident which caused the girl to have amnesia. Confounding at first, it is interesting to see how these two seemingly distant stories come together.A well-written story and good script give all the actors a chance to shine as each plays the role of a deeply complex character. We have the main hero, a tough guy of few words, who is coming to grips with his ruined life as well as the realization of what a monster he has become. His female partner is a rookie, entering the story as a naïve kid who got the job only because her uncle is a big honcho, but ultimately she develops a forceful personality of her own. The mother in the 2nd story is very cryptic, and you don't know what drives her, or if she's a good person or bad person, until the end. And the daughter whose confused & innocent portrayal of a person struggling to regain her identity had me riveted in every scene.So, yes, you could approach this as a straightforward scifi-action-crime-thriller, or you could also see it as a story of people finding--or rather, choosing--whom they want to be. And there you have it, all wrapped up in a nice, stylish ribbon. A blue ribbon of course.

lathe-of-heaven This movie was quite entertaining. The visuals and look of the film were quite nice...When the French get it right, NO ONE can do a film like this better (1982's 'DIVA' anyone...?) What made this film SO very effective was not only it's technical brilliance, excellent writing and story line, but also that the set design was amazing. Any Sci Fi elements were very subtle and not overwhelming. It comes across more as a SLIGHTLY futuristic Crime Thriller. Nothing overt or heavy handed; this is definitely NO STAR TREK or STAR WARS (although I very much DO appreciate those kinds of 'heavier' Sci Fi too...) Whenever Sci Fi elements are used, they are very understated and well integrated into the overall design and concept of the story.I REALLY liked the tone and look of this film; and I'm NOT one much really for French films per se : ) Most of them, especially older Classic ones, I find deliberately vague and pretentious for the most part. But this one had EVERYTHING nicely and tightly arranged and was put together in such a way so that after seeing it, you come away feeling that you just watched a DAMN good film!I also very much enjoyed the sound used in the movie. Nice touches in the background, especially the songs used during the sequences showing the various floors of the medical facility and during the virtual operation were quite effective.There really isn't much more to add except that if you don't mind reading subtitles and you like a very clever, well thought out and intriguing Crime Thriller, and you appreciate nice set design, then you should by all means find this film very fun and entertaining.

garyvanhorn OK, just so everyone knows it's a foreign film, French to be exact, and it is best watched in subtitles because the dubbing is terribad. If you can't stand to read your movie don't bother. Chrysalis is a sci-fi action thriller that pits an angry, vengeance driven Europol cop against a former Bulgarian special agent for control over the technology to create, implant, and erase human memories. The fight scenes are very well done and I really liked the "hard" fighting style that was employed rather than the "soft" martial arts so often seen in movies. The tech was very well done and low key, something I appreciated, too often sci-fi movies favor gadgets over plot. I liked the story but would have liked to have seen a bit more character development. All said I enjoyed the movie and I am glad I saw it.

Ismaninb All connoisseurs and other snobs know that between 1960 and 1980 French cinema was miles ahead of Hollywood. Directors like Melville knew that they could not compete on special effects etcetera because of the smaller budgets. They took the only possible course: do what Hollywood doesn't dare to do. Chrysalis breaks the Hollywood conventions as well and still stands firm in the French tradition. The pale colours remind us of classics like Le Samourai; the Hoffmann character could have been played by Alain Delon in his heydays. Dialogues are minimalistic and therefor highly effective. The two story lines first are independent and gradually merge. Montage between the two is brilliant; every scene makes you longing for the next one. Only halfway the meaning of the opening scene is partly revealed; only near the end you will understand it fully. So some patience and a bigger attention span than average is demanded - and rewarded. The movie has two weak points. First of all there is the plot. Probably I am not fair, but I find it hard to accept the plots of Robocop and Terminator as well. Never will movies like that get more than 8 stars. Second I find the Hoffmann character not that convincing anymore after his "accident". Don't take my criticism too hard. Deviating from the Hollywood norm involves risks so should be praised. Chrysalis is highly entertaining and intriguing, unless you prefer the standard, brainless and predictable stuff. And never I have seen such cold scenery.