Synopsis

A chilling sequence of five photographs depicts a giant stuffed Pluto toy striding down Main Street, removing its furry head, and setting itself alight with a bottle of gasoline. We're at Disneyland Paris, in the midst of the park's twelfth anniversary celebrations. The photographer was Jacques Vian, a correspondent for "Le Monde," suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's disease and disillusioned with life. Beneath the synthetic suit is Matteo Danza, a doctoral student in ethology convinced he knows how to counteract the "decline of humanity." Jacques is drawn to Matteo's gesture and, like an explorer, immerses himself in his story, his beliefs, and his fears, sparing no effort. A long, emotional reportage in which Jacques becomes the champion of Matteo's utopia and seals his sacrifice, also aware that man is an animal held captive in the artificial nature he has constructed and persuaded of the need to "reorder our beliefs and correct the vanishing point," finally becoming human again.