RETURN TO ‘8th WONDERLAND’
Simon Laperriere

“8th Wonderland may well be the film of its generation, for whom websites like Facebook and Twitter are part of a daily existence split between the real and the virtual, one that demands justice and equality for all of those in need, one that has the firm desire to see its utopian dreams realized at last.”

Thus concludes the introduction to 8^th Wonderland I wrote two years ago for the Fantasia lowest propecia price program. To qualify it as the “film of a generation” gave it a great responsibility. Such a claim implied that the filmmakers Jean Mach and Nicolas Alberny had crafted a work in dialogue with current issues of our society, as did, a decade before, David Fincher with Fight Club. I was then accused of being wrong, of hastily jumping to conclusions by giving this film an intent it didn’t possess. Two years later, I have now to agree with these criticisms by admitting I was truly wrong. 8^th Wonderland did not synthesize in 90 minutes the reality of 2009, the year in which it began its festival touring. On the contrary, it anticipated events to come, events which marked this end of the year.

‘Visionary’ is a qualifier usually given to great works of science-fiction, the ones having the audacity to describe our future. It’s always a risky gamble because the vision of a creator is always at risk of being contradicted by new scientific discoveries, advancements in technology – in other words, by time. It’s hard nowadays not to read H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds or Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles as obsolete artifacts of an outdated vision. For that same reason, one can’t blame the nervous laughter of younger audiences who might think Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is too far ahead of its time. Ultimately, the stories that see levitra mit rezept 10 mg preise their prophecies become reality are rare. For authors, the future will always be an opaque fog of assumptions.

8th Wonderland is therefore an exception. To realize this, one has to simply think retroactively. At the moment in which Nicolas Alberny viagra to order and Jean Mach presented their film at the Fantasia Festival, the social network Facebook was slowly beginning its subversion of our day to day life and the activist group Anonymous was still in its infancy, existing only virtually. The idea that individuals might unite across geographical distances through a web community was certainly there but it was still too early to consider the seriousness of such action. We used to consider them pejoratively, comparing them wrongly to the protagonists of the documentary Second Skin, who flee the troubles of a dull life by hiding behind the safety and comfort of online video games. That such a large group might make a difference was – let’s face it – science-fiction.

Thus, the website created by filmmakers Nicolas Alberny and Jean Mach appeared two years ago as an invitation to take a step forward. Sharing many traits with what was  quietly becoming Anonymous, 8th Wonderland users know nothing about the identity of the founder of their virtual community, they have imposed rules to follow, elect a spokesperson who will become the emblem of their society and prove driven by a thirst for justice and freedom. In its critique of political commitment, the film, as inspiring as it is, can also be read as a warning to individuals joining similar movements. Being a member of 8th Wonderland involves a self-forgetfulness. You must blend into the cause all the way. Towards the end of the film, two characters, authorities on their heels, are obliged to lock themselves in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and stop all activity. Having to disappear for the sake of 8th Wonderland’s survival is a necessary sacrifice. Personal interests have no value in this context, replaced instead by those of the website. The members of this community are one, like the activists of Anonymous who trade their identities for a given mask, that of the main protagonist of Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta.

Alberny and Mach’s film appears today as more eloquent than it did upon its original release. At the moment in which these words are typed, the news media is slowly recovering from Steve Jobs’ passing while all over the world, the streets are invaded by the Outraged, groups of protesters who want to assert the rights of the oppressed and end the reign of mercantile corporations. Such as predicted by the French filmmakers, the Outraged met on the Internet and decided to leave the virtual realm to physically express their discontent. They are ready to take great risks to awaken the conscience of a society they consider asleep. Their message is clear: it is possible to change things through the strength of a union. And in seeing the growing number of participants, one can believe the scales will soon tip. Thus, Mach and Alberny’s film will have been the film of a generation, despite being slightly ahead of it.

8^th Wonderland, which one can finally watch and/or rewatch at home with the Blu-ray disc recently published in France, ends on an open note. The struggle of this community against outrage is far from over, but now they know the impact of their actions. 8^th Wonderland will have, two years later, proven its point. Soon, it will be outrun by current events and we will have to move forward to the next step. There will be a time for a 9^th Wonderland.

(Translation : Ariel Esteban Cayer)

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About the author:

Simon Laperriere

Simon Laperriere is the Director of the Fantasia Film Festival's vanguard 'Camera Lucida' section, a film scholar and co-author of the 2013 book SNUFF MOVIES: NAISSANCE D'UNE LEGENDE URBAINE.