In a near-future Paris, the inventor of an omnipresent AI is found dead. Two unlikely cops are paired together to get to the root of the mystery, ultimately unravelling a case with plenty of twists and turns.
In a dystopian Paris of the near future, the urban landscape is split apart through checkpoints and zones, monitored by the ever-present Alma AI, always watching over everyone. When the inventor of this revolutionary technology is found dead, it sends shockwaves across the city and an investigation is called for. To get to the bottom of the case, two unlikely cops are thrown together: Salia (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a slick no-nonsense modern pro, and Zem (Gilles Lellouche), a worn and grizzled veteran. In search of the truth, the partners must co-exist and draw on their combined knowledge and expertise as they head down a rabbit hole with unexpected consequences and shocking revelations.
With the ongoing rise of 24-hour surveillance and the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, many of our contemporary paranoias are captured in Dog 51. While the film is set in a fictional future, it is also a stark prediction of where our society may be headed.
In this taut mystery, misdirection comes with the territory. Layers start to unfold the deeper the investigation gets, uncovering corruption, chaos, and twists that not even the best AI could predict. Director Cédric Jimenez crafts a moody, modern sci-fi noir, complete with great cinematography, heart-pumping action sequences, an entrancing soundtrack, and an ominous ultimate question: if this technology is monitoring us, then who is monitoring it?
ROBYN CITIZEN
Screenings
Scotiabank 13
Scotiabank 14
TIFF Lightbox 2