M83 - MIDNIGHT CITY
- Directed by Fleur & Manu -
During the complex and sublime journey through space, time and dimension, told via supernatural protagonists and antagonists, directors Fleur & Manu immerse us into a world of magical realism, where mind control determines our fate and where the secrets to life and existence are captured behind a locked door to which we must solicit the key. With a reference to the famous manga “Akira” and “Princess Mononoke” and the films “Tree of Life” and “Space Odyssey 2001”, a grand overall picture is created, which not only serves for stunning visual storytelling, but also makes us questions what message Fleur & Manu hide behind this epic.
The most prominent lyrics of “Midnight City”, which essentially describe the first section of the three-part journey directors Fleur & Manu take us on, echo in the words “waiting for a roar, looking at the mutating skyline, the city is my church, it wraps me in the sparkling twilight.” The lyrics signify change - the skyline is "mutating" with the setting of the sun, an uprising stirs within the hearts of the main characters and the city becomes a vessel through which an almost religious-like communication with a higher power occurs. Already early on in the story, visual themes of creation and destruction arise through the contrast between light and dark and innocence and danger.
Similar to “Akira”, we meet a group of children with various powers, forcefully locked in a lab by scientists, who attempt to study their supernatural traits. Seeing the boy with the blue shirt dragged into the lab by a scientist, it appears that the children stem from extraterrestrial space and are discovered as anomalies, rather than being scientifically bred. As the boy induces an image on television, which is not part of the lab experiment, the frame cuts to the close-up of a blonde girl’s eyes beginning to glow. This beat in the scene suggests that an event out of the ordinary occurs. This is the first sign of the "roar" M83 reference in their lyrics. The boy interrupts a carefully planned experiment by the scientists through mind-control and thereby dominates the scientists. The frame on television depicts an unidentifiable face. Nevertheless, the set-up of the image reminded me of a religious channel, with a man on the microphone preaching to his viewers. The "religious" character on TV is potentially a parallel to the boy, who serves as a "guide" for the other children to escape the science lab and return to their extraterrestrial home.
Having escaped from the science lab, the children enter a deserted, battered factory in a remote area of the city. Here, Fleur & Manu consciously contrast images of destruction with images of creation, suggesting the themes of extinction and rebirth, as well as foreshadowing the third video of their trilogy. The run-down factory appears to come to life with the innocent youth inside it. A low angle shot of the sunlight, seeping through the factory roof shortly followed by a similar frame and a girl’s hands reaching up, depict the sunlight as a divine driving force of life, which the children crave. The theme of light is parallelled with the children's glowing eyes, which are induced when they utilize their powers, establishing a connection between the sunlight and the children's strength.
Despite the life-inducing power of the sun, it also appears to serve as a fodder for the children's destructive forces. This is depicted as the innocent youthfulness of the children is contrasted with the dangerous, destructive supernatural powers they possess. The tall blonde girl levitates three car tires in the air and launches them at the factory walls, purposefully shattering them more. Interestingly, the levitating tires are aligned as a triangle – a shape, which is utilized throughout the remaining two videos to depict a religious symbol.
As the sun begins to set, the children stand on the rooftop observing the “mutating” skyline, which begins to glow in the night, just like their eyes. The light from the setting sun, intercut with the expanding pupils of the children - an image which recurs in the third video - reminds of the expansion of the universe, the Big Bang and its subsequent creation of life, while complementing the theme of change. The parallel of the light glowing from the children’s eyes and the city lights creates a connection between the children and the urban setting. Yet again, it appears that the light of the sun and the glowing lights of the city spark the powerful life force within the children. Light shines from within them as they feed off the energy of the sun's rays, which we establsih as the source of all life.
Ultimately, the last frame fortifies the theme of the first section with its installation. Just like the children awaken to their inner powers, the universe (most importantly, the city) awakens to the children's presence. Consequently, the lyrics “the city is my church, it wraps me in the sparkling twilight” suggest that the city and its lights serve as a vessel to the divine, extraterrestrial and eternal, providing the children with the energy and power of life as they awaken to its spirit. To highlight the religious connotation: "God said let there be light, and there was light."
