The story begins in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. Emperor Napoleon III is on the throne, and scientists are working on a revolutionary "Ultimate Serum." However, a mysterious event causes every major scientist—from Pasteur to Edison—to vanish. Consequently, the world never discovers electricity, internal combustion, or modern radio.
The film opens with a brilliant sequence set in 1870. Napoleon III is losing the Franco-Prussian War. Desperate, he calls upon two famous scientists—Gustave Franklin and his daughter—to create a "Ultimate Weapon." But just as they are about to reveal a formula for invincible soldiers, a bolt of lightning strikes the lab. The secret dies. The Franklins disappear. And history takes a sharp left turn.
Without giving too much away, the title refers to more than just the alternate history. The film’s third act pivots into genuine science fiction. The mystery of the missing scientists leads to a hidden utopia (or is it a gilded cage?) populated by a truly bizarre cast of intelligent, test-taking lizards. April and the Extraordinary World -2015- FRENCH...
This isn't your typical steampunk fantasy of gleaming brass goggles. This is dieselpunk noir —grimy, desperate, and filled with the melancholic realization that progress has died.
However, distribution was a mess. In the US, it played in only a handful of theaters. In the UK, it went straight to VOD. This is why the search term is still so popular today—fans are hunting for the original, un-dubbed DVD/Blu-ray releases or streaming versions that preserve the original audio track. The story begins in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War
If you have not seen it, find the French version. Light a candle, turn off your phone, and let the green gas-light of this "truqué" world swallow you whole. You will emerge grateful that our real world—for all its faults—still has electricity, the internet, and the courage to ask big questions.
"April and the Extraordinary World" is available to stream on various platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube. It is also available for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray. The film opens with a brilliant sequence set in 1870
In 2015, most studios were obsessed with CGI. April and the Extraordinary World is a defiantly 2D, hand-drawn feature. The color palette is genius: the world is dominated by sepia, rust, and bottle green, representing the coal-soot pollution of the alternate history.