Dante's Inferno (2007)

This is definitely one of the more idiosyncratic films I've seen recently. A modern version of Dante's Inferno (lifted from the Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders adapation), this movie is told completely through the use of paper puppets controlled by sticks or string. It's pretty impressive, actually. The script itself was just ok, though. Boozing young slacker Dante Alighieri (Dermot Mulroney) wakes up in a bad part of town with no memory of how he got there, no money, and no idea how to get home. He meets Virgil (James Cromwell), whom at first he mistakes for a homeless man, and is coerced into following him through the many circles of hell for the rest of the story.

He runs into several famous historical figures as well as some people from his personal past. The landscape of hell is composed chiefly of familiar, albeit decrepit, trappings of mortal life: used car lots, gated communities, airports, and the Capitol Building. They have run-ins with lustful politicians, greedy salesmen, sacrilegious men of the cloth, and various other sinners suffering through imaginative tortures. They even meet the devil in the final circle, a gargantuan and quiet man perpetually eating the worst of hell's inhabitants. Eventually Dante is led back home, left to sort through what he has seen and experienced in a way that will encourage self-improvement.

The most I know about Inferno comes from the X-Men version, so I guess I can't say much about its merits as an adaptation. From what I can tell, the story is very close to Dante's original, with aspects of speech and specific people they meet changed a bit. Considering the contemporary setting, that makes a lot of sense. It's probably funnier than the original as well, with much of the script poking fun at various public figures (especially the overly-conservative). I liked the more colloquial conversation and familiar historical faces, but sometimes it seemed the writers were being overly critical or overly political. There's nothing wrong with satire, but the way it was handled here was uneven- either it wasn't really mentioned, or it was very in-your-face. It seemed like they had to go out of their way to make certain points they wanted to make. I thought some of the jokes fell flat, too. It was humorous, but nothing felt new.

While the script isn't especially engaging, the animation more than makes up for it. I'd never seen anything like this before, and I wonder if I will again any time soon. The sets were beautiful and meticulously drawn; the figures were surprisingly expressive and dynamic. I really enjoyed seeing the innovative ways their movements were described. Visually, everything was just really impressive. Overall it's a decent film: an ok retelling of a classic story with gorgeous modern settings and excellent animation. It's worth it if you're a sucker for cool visuals or dig the original tale, but probably passable otherwise. Also: There's a musical number.

3.5/5 (extra .5 for the animation alone)