Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem – Review

Interstella 5555 is a film by Japanese animators to accompany a Daft Punk album. I really liked that there is zero dialogue in this movie, just Discovery as the soundtrack, and lots of non-verbal communication, meaning that there’s no need for translation, or bad dub-overs. One can view it in any country. The visuals carry the story, but the songs are so well integrated that there is never a clash, nor does the viewer find himself wondering what is going on. Discovery animation is done by animation legend Leiji Matsumoto who does a terrific job. For those who haven’t heard Daft Punk’s Discovery before, the album is House with extra doses of funk. The whole package is something unique for people of all ages.

When you have a song the is somber and slow, but you have the screen filled with action scenes, it doesn’t fit as well. I wish they could have fit everything together perfectly like in the “Fantasia” films, but the music is mostly beats. This movie is closer to a super extended video clip than an animated tale. However, this is not to say it has no appeal to either music fans or animation fans. It really doesn’t matter what grade I give this film or what negative I harp on, I call this best of both worlds because not only does it pair good elctronic music and great classic anime. It also joins some culture across the globe, Paris and Tokyo and gaining ground in the USA. It is able to captivate our attention and keep us entranced while we follow the story of these rock stars from another planet as they search for each other and their home.

I have attached a clip of my favorite part of the film.  I also like Digital Love because I really do think of him going to get the girl he loves when I hear that song. I won’t spoil the plot too much, but I think that is the greatest strength of this movie is that it is affirming to the human spirit and has a good deal of faith in the human spirit all in all. Also, if it is any consolation, Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555 is a movie that rekindled my interest in the French electronic music duo after 10 years of estrangement.

If you are a fan of Discovery, you will find yourself singing along to the songs as you watch the movie. It’s a fun, entertaining film that you can watch without taking too seriously. What is most impressive is that the movie appears to be a derivative work, that is the album was created first and Daft Punk then approached Matsumoto et.al. to create the movie afterward. The music and movie concepts are fused so well that I would have thought that the music was created for the movie. It was almost as if Matsumoto was able to extract what was in the heads of Daft Punk when they created the album and expressed it visually. Thumbs up! Go see it.