In a future where drought has gripped the planet, humanity is forced to sacrifice its population. Indeed, its inhabitants are transformed into a tree at the age of 50 and the society enclosed under a glass dome must follow very strict rules. One day, when his wife prematurely decides to end her life at the age of 32, her husband, Stefan, will try to save her even if it means taking great risks.
Imagined by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó — two Hungarian directors — Sky Dome 2123 is an animated film in the purest tradition of science fiction: a devastated earth, a decimated population forced to engage in the worst experiments in an attempt to save itself, and a dystopian future are the main elements that create an exciting exposition at the beginning of the film.
If the latter reminds us of the feature film Blade Runner (1982) by Ridley Scott, in the era of vast technologies and a refined futuristic setting, its theme however remains different. Because in Sky Dome 2123it is not a question of the link between machines and humans, but rather of that between Man and nature.
A cry of life
Although the feature film, presented in 2023 during the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, does not directly name the ecological crisis, it is omnipresent through the presentation of an arid landscape depicted through colors hot. We can sense the trace that Man has left in a story of anticipation which thus links ecological catastrophe and science fiction apocalypse, all in a three-dimensional design mixing drawing and real shots. Whether through its history and its rhythm, or the multiple graphic techniques used, Sky Dome 2123 testifies to great vivacity and broad plurality. Like a last burst of nature and life facing this desert landscape!
This last triumph also finds its reason for being through the love story which stands at the heart of Sky Dome 2123 between Stefan and his wife, Nora. Through charming realism, the animated film paints a portrait of a romance as naturalistic as it is complex, tested by the sorrows of life.
Far from classic archetypes, the characters appear broken, stubborn, sometimes even selfish or naive, even within the couple. The directors do not make them superheroes, capable of defying the apocalypse, but protagonists who, despite the terrifying conditions of the future, try to retain their humanity, but above all to lead a “normal” life.
A humanity which at the same time tries to survive, but which to do so indulges in the worst barbarity. The dichotomy between what the film poetically advocates and the actions of society depicted is fascinating, Sky Dome 2123 offering a vision of what our near future could look like.
The animation, both dark and warm, accentuates, moreover, this atmosphere where death and life collide, two themes which underline the desire of Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó to thus offer an ode to life in what it has more beauty but also more chaotic. Cathartic!
