About me
Bookshop

Get new posts by email.

About me

‘Reality+’

This is a short French film by Coralie Fargeat, first released in 2014. I streamed it elsewhere, but it turns out that you can also now watch it on YouTube:

It is set in present-day Paris. Residents can choose to have a ‘chip’ implanted which allows users to see themselves and their fellow users with their ‘dream’ bodies, for twelve hours per day. It’s a commentary on how parts of our society are obsessed with physical appearance.

It won lots of awards, but I thought that didn’t say much beyond the obvious, that a person’s qualities are more than skin-deep. I saw Jennifer Haley’s one-act play The Nether at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London around the same time as this film was released. The play has a similar conceit, but leaned into exploring ethics in a much more interesting and memorable way: instead of focusing merely on romance, it used the theme of child abuse to raise deeply uncomfortable questions—though I suppose it was three times the length.

I’m not sure the film did much for me.

This post was filed under: Art, Film, Theatre, , .

Recently published posts

Cleadon Mill / 05 December 2024

‘Conclave’ / 04 December 2024

Focus / 03 December 2024

Whitburn winter walk / 02 December 2024

Demedicalising death / 01 December 2024

Words have many meanings—and none / 30 November 2024




Random posts from the archive

Preparing for Emergencies / 28 July 2004

Entry #99 / 06 May 2004

Hell is 57 varieties / 03 January 2005

Photo-a-day 120: Rain / 29 April 2012

Summer Books: Get Dead by Jamie Oliver / 31 August 2008

Two crazed women / 09 May 2005





The content of this site is copyright protected by a Creative Commons License, with some rights reserved. All trademarks, images and logos remain the property of their respective owners. The accuracy of information on this site is in no way guaranteed. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author. No responsibility can be accepted for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information provided by this site. Information about cookies and the handling of emails submitted for the 'new posts by email' service can be found in the privacy policy. This site uses affiliate links: if you buy something via a link on this site, I might get a small percentage in commission. Here's hoping.