A feast for the eyes

Rating: 7/10 (7 June 2020)

On the continuum between form and substance 'The fifth element" stands firmly on the side of "form". Something not to be surprised of by a a director (the most successful director) of the "Cinema du look" movement.
The plot is paperthin but the images are terrific. The visual language looks very much like a comic book ("Kuifje" or "TinTin), and I later read that this is indeed one of the sources of inspiration for director Luc Besson. The, often very strange, costumes were designed by the famous French couturier Jean Paul Gaultier. This was not the first time that this fashion designer contributed to a movie. Earlier examples are "The cook, the thief, his wife & her lover" (1989, Peter Greenaway) and "The city of lost children" (1995, Jean Pierre Jeunet).
The film has hints of classic science fiction films such as "Metropolis" (1927, Fritz Lang) and "Blade runner" (1982, Ridley Scott), but takes itself less seriously. There are comic characters that in my opinion are a little silly (certainly after a while). Brilliant are the visual gags such as McDonalds and the Chinese take-away in the 23th century.
According to Rogert Ebert the film is a bit to long, and I agree with him. To avoid this is in principle the job of the editor. One can imagine however the objections of director Besson when she cuts away very expensive scenes.