invisibleunicornninja Plot - The concept of this story is pretty good and well told. Its very strange, but its fairly well done and meaningful. Animation - For the sections that are animated, the character design and movement is pretty good. Very bizarre at some points, but its nice to look at. The main character seems to only have one expression no matter what happens to her though. Acting - Both the voice acting in the animated segents and the actual acting in the live action bits are pretty bad. No-one really shows any emotion and everything is really flat and lifeless.Characters - None of the characters are really fleshed out. They're just there to tell the story. There is a lot of clunky exposition where identities and ideas are just stated. Watching the characters go through this story is entertaining, but it probably could've been done a lot better. Music - For some reason there are a lot of scenes, especially during the first act, that feel like there should be some kind of background music but instead there's silence. There are very few scenes with any kind of music and when there is it sounds very stock. Its hard to tell if this is an editing error or intentional, but its very odd. Overall, I would recommend this movie. Its very interesting and bizarre. I was entertained.edit - oh hey look. someone at IMDb changed the word bat**** in the header to "crazy."

Rectangular_businessman After reading so many complaints posted on the web about the lack of originality in modern movies, one would think there would be a lot of support and praise towards a film that tries to do something different and unique, but it seems that complex (or merely unconventional) narratives are loathed here on IMDb. But then again, this is the same website that gives extremely inflated ratings to a lot of generic superhero flicks. It is also the only website where a show like "Mr. Pickles" could be rated so high.Anyway, "The Congress" is a wonderful film. Of all the movies that combined live-action with animation through the history of cinema, this might be my favorite. Plot-wise, "The Congress" might be closer to movies like "Inland Empire" rather than "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". And the balance between the live-action parts with the animation is simply excellent.Some people say that it would have been better if the "Hallucination" parts were done in live-action, but I disagree: The animation sequences (Which make a marvelous combination of psychedelia with an art style reminiscent of the work of Max Fleischer) not only gives the story a proper dream-like feel to the story (Opposed to a dry and forgettable portrayal of dreams as it was seen in movies like "Inception") but also serve as a subtle commentary about modern-day obsession with escapism: It's something admirably subtle the way the thin line between fantasy and reality fades away as the plot of the film progresses, until the bitter reality is finally showed in a rather heartbreaking manner. Like at the end of "Waltz with Bashir", when the animation changes into live-action, we as viewers are forced to confront a harsh reality that cannot be ignored, and that reality is that living with our backs turned to the problems of today only will have dire consequences in the future, and we will have to deal with those consequences in one way or another. I guess that a message like that could be hard to swallow for many viewers, but I personally think that in this day and age, a message like that it's more necessary than ever.I hope "The Congress" gets eventually vindicated by history. Maybe in the future, people will be able to appreciate more its daring qualities. For now at least, the future of cinema seems bleak, with all the same generic stuff making billions at the box office while the actually challenging movies are perpetually ignored. A shame, really.

Jeffrey Burton It is an absolute shame this movie didn't just stick with it's original premise. Great actors in this! Robin Wright is steady, graceful, beautiful, emotionally vulnerable and thoughtful. You really bond with her as almost everyone in personal sphere says very intrusive and unflattering things about her. Things that she obviously feels about herself. Harvey Keitel gives a great performance as Robin's agent, long time friend, confidant and champion. Danny Houston is smarmy and easy to detest as the crass studio head. Paul Giamati is also here and good as usual. This movie promises an emotional and intellectual catharsis about the nature of art, individuality, mortality and immortality. I thought at first it might be an Able Ferrara picture and paused it to check. It wasn't and it's a damn shame. If the movie had stayed with it's emotional core and thought provoking theme it could have been something special. Instead, with no set up, it takes this bizzaro, forced and unnatural turn into Toon Town, without the live action. I'm mean it actually throws out all the big questions and the real Robin Wright is replaced with an animated one in an animated environment. There is no amount of suspension of disbelief that can save this ham handed transition. And the incredible level of pretentiousness that happens after this 'twist' is nauseating. I mean like bad community college creative lit class bad. The resolution of it all may just as well be, 'And then she woke up... It had all been a dream...' This is the type of movie where YOU KNOW if you were involved your hand would be up and you'd be screaming 'STOP! Let's just keep with the original premise!!!' and you wonder how someone didn't. I saw a production cost of 34 million which is very hard to believe. I can understand the the budget for the actors but for the animation??? Though some of the imagery is good, the animated sequences are incredibly average in quality and they totally take you out of the movie. This should of and could have been a great character piece. As it is, it's a mess and looks like all the big name actors were doing a very untalented filmmaker a favor. He sure didn't do them or us one. Damn shame. SMDH...

vladp6 Initially, I should note that I've read the book which has almost nothing to do with this film. As the title indicates, this movie is simply unwatchable. I don't know why to make such surrealistic film if there is no idea behind it at all. I have no problem with mixing animation into the film but I have a problem with the scenario itself. The actors are great and try their best but there is no connection between what they play and what happens. In fact happens absolutely nothing until boredom. It's all about visual and psychedelic perception of a very sad life and dark future. The idea of replacement of a real world with the imaginary one is not new, as well as the idea of using drugs to bring your mind into a completely psychedelic state bordering with a suicidal state. If you have absolutely nothing to do, I suggest you better read the book by Stanislav Lem and never watch this film.