''La Possibilité d'une île'' is a 2008 film directed by

Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas on 26 February 1956) is a French author of novels, poems, and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker, and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. H ...

, loosely based on his 2005

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

The Possibility of an Island ''The Possibility of an Island'' () is a 2005 novel by French novelist Michel Houellebecq, set within a cloning cult that resembles the real-world Raëlians.Worton, Michael ''A dog's life (poodles excepted)'' in The Guardian Saturday October 29 ...

''.

Plot

Without much response and only accompanied by his not very supportive son Daniel and a technical assistant, a man calling himself 'The Prophet' travels around Belgium and lectures on eternal life and how it is possible to surpass the limitations of death. Only three years later he has achieved a remarkable status with numerous followers. Believing in the so-called Elohim, extraterrestrials who bring eternal life, the sect he founded is doing research on an optimised technique of cloning that allows one to reproduce an adult person within a few minutes including a copy of his complete memory storage. Daniel leaves his father's cult but returns years later in order to become The Prophet's successor. The story continues thousands of years from this moment. Daniel reappears as a clone of himself, heir to a long line of clones called neo-humans. Living in a cave, he reads about the past of humankind and his own ancestors. When an undefined longing urges him to leave his cave, he wanders a lonely world. After a dog has become his companion, Daniel feels like he approaches the concept of love which neo-humans have lost over the centuries. At the same time another loner is getting lost in the wastelands, a woman whose original human version once had an encounter, maybe a love affair with Daniel.

Cast

Benoît Magimel Benoît Magimel (; born 11 May 1974) is a French actor. He was 14 when he appeared in his first film, and has starred in a variety of roles in French cinema. At age 16, Magimel left school to pursue acting as a career. In 2001, he won the Best A ...

: Daniel *

Patrick Bauchau Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau (born 6 December 1938) is a Belgian actor best known for his roles in the films ''A View to a Kill'', '' The Rapture'' and '' Panic Room'', as well as the TV shows '' The Pretender'' and ''House''. ...

: The prophet *

Jordi Dauder Jordi Dauder i Guardiola (5 March 1938 – 16 September 2011) was a Spanish actor. Dauder was a veteran actor with a prolific career that includes over a hundred films, plays and television series. He developed to the immense majority of hi ...

: Gérard * Jean-Pierre Malo : Jérôme * Ramata Koite : Marie *

Andrzej Seweryn Andrzej Teodor Seweryn (Polish pronunciation: ; born 25 April 1946) is a Polish actor and Theatre director, director. Regarded as one of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France, and Germa ...

: Slotan * Serge Larivière : Rudi * Clara Ponsot : Dacha *

Fernando Arrabal Fernando Arrabal Terán (; ; born August 11, 1932) is a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, novelist, and poet. He was born in Melilla and settled in France in 1955. Regarding his nationality, Arrabal describes himself as "desterra ...

: The emperor *

Arielle Dombasle Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958. is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough ro ...

: Mexican delegate

External links

*
''Houellebecq et le “Prix Clone-court”: ou le Nouvel-Âge du clonage de clowns raëliens''—(Cloning Clowns with the “Clonecourt Prize” is now “Raëlity”!)
French science fiction films 2000s French-language films 2008 films Films based on French novels Films based on works by Michel Houellebecq Works by Michel Houellebecq Films shot in Almería 2000s French films {{2000s-France-film-stub