I'll start with a tale. One evening in the mid-2010s, out of curiosity and boredom, I watched a movie on Film4. It was called Aeon Flux, a stylish science fiction action thriller starring Charlize Theron. And...I liked it. Yeah, the plot was hokey at times and the character chemistry could really fall flat, but the tone and the style and its twist on some sci-fi tropes was extremely engaging. Its picture of resistance to a utopian surveillance state almost felt like a false premise by the end of the movie, which had a story that...went places. it also had a unique sci-fi vibe, a kind of biotechnology that I hadn't seen anywhere else.
Out of curiosity and investigation, I found the original Aeon Flux, which began in 1991 as a series of shorts on MTV and evolved into a series of ten half-hour episodes in 1995. I saw these shorts, eventually got the complete collection on DVD. And...I liked it. It had a unique vibe that was daring and challenged some of my still-lingering stereotypes surrounding animation as something aimed at children. I had only experienced Studio Ghibli anime at this point, I had no idea about Paprika or Ninja Blade or Ghost in the Shell or Zetsuen no Tempest. This was my first 'adult animation' that wasn't fleeting glimpses of The Simpsons. It was unusual, and summing up the series beyond "avent-garde sci-fi with a female lead" is tricky to say the least. Cloning, time travel, philosophical discussions, symbolism, all this and more is for you to discover here. It's just...bonkers.
At the heart of both the series and the movie, along with a game that kinda bridged the two in 2005, is the love-hate relationship between Aeon Flux, a woman from the anarchist nation of Monica: and Trevor Goodchild, ruler of the technocratic nation of Bregna. They are complete opposites, but end up coming together repeatedly and explosively. Literally. I didn't quite get what was going on between them when I first saw the series, but now I get it. It's an exploration of the kind of instinctive yet completely unthinkable attraction that is often at the centre of tragedy in the real world.
There's--in my opinion--a lot to recommend about both the series and the film, with one caveat: DON'T EXPECT THEM TO BE THE SAME THING. The original series is a cult classic of adult animation, with an incredible score by Drew Neumann (which is available on CD and streaming services), and excellent animation and direction from Peter Chung. The movie has a great performance from Theron, again a great soundtrack by Graeme Revell (again available through streaming services), and its visual design and camera work is incredible. But their story quality is miles apart, and the chemistry in the film is as I said barely present. There's also the 2005 game from the same people who created BloodRayne, and...yeah, it's okay in the story department. And the soundtrack from Kyle Richards is once more great. Just, Aeon Flux music great.
So, what did I take from these? Well, from the movie, a particular sci-fi style that I haven't seen replicated anywhere else. A combination of clean and uncanny, of nature and tech. From the series, a surreal experience and a message that you can create a story without explaining everything. And from both, a unique woman. Sassy, indomitable, yet still able to feel. And someone who, while defined in part through her relationship with a man, isn't all that. She's still her own character. When I think of those films, I think of Aeon before anyone or anything else. And you may well find a bit of Aeon in some of the heroines I create.
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