The Congress

The concept of stars selling their souls to the studio becomes a futuristic reality in this surreal part-animated drama from Israeli director Ari Folman (whose 2008 animated war film Waltz with Bashir was Oscar-nominated). He adapts a 1971 novel by sci-fi writer Stanislaw Lem and casts Robin Wright as Robin Wright, a Hollywood actress whose agent (Harvey Keitel) is convincing her to accept a proposition from an oily film executive (Danny Huston) that would see her give up all rights to her image for two decades. The humour here is dark and incisive, with an especially bold turn by Wright, who bears the brunt of some very harsh dialogue. After she signs up, the film fast-forwards 20 years. Now, on the way to the mysterious "Congress" of the title, she drinks from an ampoule containing an unidentified drug and enters an anarchic, animated version of Hollywood populated by famous faces in caricature. Folman's darkly entertaining film becomes a lot more wayward at this point, but even though it never quite seals the satirical promise of its first half, it does throw up some dazzling and very amusing ideas.