It’s 1904. French director Georges Méliès is at the height of his career, creating fantastic, creative movies in the early days of cinema. Like his earlier A Trip to the Moon, this film is about a fantastic voyage, but as the Institute of Incoherent Geography visits mountain villagers, the surface of the sun, and monster-infested oceans, it is in some ways a more frantic and adventurous movie.
What The Impossible Voyage offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: a 20-minute feast for eyes and imagination; another example of Méliès’ cinematic experimentation and opulent sets; and an almost fever-dream level series of cartoonish escapades.