I'm not quite sure what to make of this film to be honest. Connie Nielsen, Gershon, and Sevigny gave good performances. However, that's not enough is it? The plot was very convoluted and hard to grasp. It was corporate espionage within the porn industry. Which could have been very interesting if the direction was executed properly. But that wasn't the issue as much as the script was. Towards the end there were one too many 'back stabbings" to keep track of, and I wasn't sure who was responsible for what. Gershon's character seemed to have disappeared and another main character did as well with no explanation, at least that's my take on it. I did like the downer ending though, that was a nice touch.The cinematography was beautiful at many points in the film and the score from Sonic Youth fit in very well with the vibe of the film. Back to the cinematography for a second, I couldn't enjoy it as much I should have since the DVD I viewed it on (region 1 - USA) had a very poor transfer. The image was very pix-elated. Did the production company or distribution company not care enough to do the DVD encoding properly? Anyway, I tried my best to enjoy this film but I could not. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Apologies to everyone that worked very hard on this project.

The film looks slick, the actors are good, period. End of merits. Director Assayas needs to sit down and do some homework before he writes a script. You may not be familiar with things like corporate espionage and the porn industry -though if you're going to make a film about them, you certainly should- but being blatantly ignorant about "the Internets" is just unacceptable. This movie feels as dated in most of its plot contrivances as if it was made in the eighties, but it's only five years old as I'm writing this. I mean, things like: how can a website be "highly profitable" and "impossible to find" at the same time? And if so, how come a teenage kid just goes and finds it? Oh, them kiddos with them Googles and stuff...On top of this kind of ignorant devices it's pretentious, slow-paced, full of plot holes, and just doesn't go anywhere. It's hard to point my toes downward, but if I could, I would give this film a four-thumbs-down.

Much has been said about this film in other high-rated user review that need not be repeated here. Assayas has obviously seen a whole number of Hong Kong movies as this is nothing less than a French HK thriller. The themes may have been a bit old and trite even as the film came out ("You don't have that in France yet, right" as the Americans remark at one point) but there's always a trade-off to be made between elitism and populism. Certain media events concerning real torture that shape our perception now had not transpired either, and even the fictional internet doesn't appear totally made-up yet.Contrary to what some reviewers thought, the plot didn't have any holes that I noticed. In the second half (after the fight with HK style near-deadly deception) the pace merely accelerates and showing every step of the development would have been even more populist. In the end, as HK cinema fans know very well, the dark decisions and desires of the human soul let everything go to hell.The cinematography is faultless, and the actors - especially the main anti-heroine - express everything in a very non-extreme but nonetheless crystal-clear way. This is a great film that does not overstep the boundaries of entertainment, as there are really no explicit scenes to be seen, yet it leaves a very strong message about the life people are creating (or rather destroying) through their decisions and actions.

Summary: two large adult animation companies are competing to see who can be the more powerful of the market. in these companies are french American and Japanese business people who will go to any lengths to sabotage and win over the other. Diane, working with Demonlover and creating a joint with TokyoAnime, is in between teams, beginning the film by drugging the previous project lead manager on the plane trip from Tokyo and then following up by working with the rival company MangaTronics. Along with her is her partner Hervé who seems to have a team of his own. To make things more complicated, it seems another girl Elise seems to know about the incident on the plane. What Diane discovers about the underground adult website market leads her into murder, deception, and even extreme torture. Its a very incense movie and features some twists and turns that will eventually lead to discovering the truth behind what really goes on in the underground scene.Story: 8/10 Sometimes a bit hard to follow. From the very start there's double-crossing and lies from both ends of the corporations. The movie never stops though and keeps you on your toes as to who is working for who and what motivates them. Its sexual themes are given just the right amount of screen time being the theme of the movie but off and on there's some sexual parts. It almost seems like two different stories as once the Hell Fire Club site is discovered a lot of the story focuses on Diane finding out more and who runs that.Acting: 8/10 All of the characters did very well. It was almost hard to see Connie Nielsen in such a role, seeing as she isn't usually the one doing all of the dangerous stuff. Chloë Sevigny did very well in her role and while she came off as the little secretary girl she grew to be completely twisted and dangerous as the main lead. Gina Gearshon had her moments but she played the typical American girl right.Sound Mix: 7/10 There's a few scenes in Rave clubs in Japan as well as different areas and luxurious hotels in France. There were a few intense scenes where the music kept its pace but nothing too drastic.Camera-work / Lighting: 9/10: The movie took place in a Lot of areas. All of the scenes of Japan were shot in dark brightly lit areas, mainly clubs and all kinds of other spotlight areas. There are many times that certain particular attention is drawn to objects (the water Diane drugs for instance) that it cleverly focuses on. Its nicely shot and gives everything in this film a real dark moody tone clashing perfectly with the underground adult industry.Editing: 7/10 The focus remains on Diane the entire time but we do get a glimpse of what the other characters are up to. Just enough so that we can follow it without losing the excitement and mystery of whats going on. The focus could have been better since things change halfway through the movie into a side plot of the Hell Fire Club website.Uniqueness: 8/10 For adult anime fans, yes it has that attraction to see what could possibly be going on behind the curtains of the industry. Also for anyone looking for something dark and mysterious, it would be good too. Fans of 8MM will notice certain scenes bare a resemblance as Diane is new to all of the things going on around her and whether she wants to or not, she gets involved in many ways.Worth: 8/10 It is interesting enough to hunt down and see. Coming across this wont be too easy as its a French film with spoken languages of Japanese English and French. Perhaps if a DVD is released internationally then it would be a promising movie to see if you're looking for an intense Drama Thriller. Fans of 8MM looking for more should see this as well.Overall Score (Not an average): 8.0 It isn't anything groundbreaking and there isn't anything new with twists and subplots that develop to other subplots but the movie would be good for something different as its French and takes place in many settings. The acting is very good and does have enough twists to stay interested. The story branching off might throw some people off but by that time they're used to the characters and should be interested enough to sit through the rest. It can be fairly violent at times so some squeamish people might want to think twice.Reviewer's Insight: Though finding information on this film wasn't easy, the main plot focusing on Adult Anime got me interested. Hearing Chloë Sevigny played a bad guy got me instantly hooked. It surprised me to hear both her and Connie Nielsen, and heck, even Gina Gearson for a line or two, speak French. Thankfully it didn't deter from the story at all and I followed it all the way. There was only one real sex scene but that didn't change my opinion of the story at all. I loved the many shots of Tokyo and the fluentness of certain scenes where they'd speak English, French, and Japanese and not miss a word in the translation. Its a solid flick and should be seen by anyone who enjoyed the intensity of 8MM and other thriller dramas.