Science Fiction · Action · Adventure
French (Le Cinquième Élément)
1997 · Directed by Luc Besson · 126 min
In a bright, crowded 23rd-century New York, an ex-soldier turned cab driver gets pulled into a cosmic errand that reaches far beyond his daily routine. Part space opera, part comic book, part fairy tale, it is a loud, colourful and deliberately playful vision of the future.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining example of 1990s European spectacle cinema, and a bright, comic-book counterpoint to the dark science fiction tradition of Blade Runner and Alien.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a live-action comic book, where design, colour and costume carry as much meaning as plot.
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