Reviewed by Jon Barton

It seems that on the rarest occasion, Andres' Manifesto has actually made an impact. Espirit De Corp's however is made all the more special to the overall feel of work made by an original and quirky director. Sergon pulls out all the stops to deliver not only a solid offering of action, but with that rare mix of tension and emotion to go with it.

The cinematography of the film is breathtaking. While, often lately, directors balance bad direction with a terrific story and good acting, Sergon actually does both well, reeling us in with the tale the protagonist tells quickly, and reinforcing this with good solid camera angles and neat action sequences. I always look for the little things, and there were two specifics that made Espirit De Corps so brilliant. Effects are always nice to see in movies, things like smoke, shadows and the like. But Sergon has made his down to a T, also emphasising their relevance as the mood is initiated and the antagonist appears on the scene.

And the other thing is something seemingly simple. The film begins and closes with the protagonist sitting at a café bar, as he is recounting the story. Usually conversations in 3dmm consist of shot reverse shot lazy camera angles and progressive scenes because the director really couldn't be bothered to keep it up for such a slow period of time. Sergon however, ensures every cut and every shot is timed wot match with a new animation. Only once did I see a repeating shot during these conversations, and that is something I would be proud of. And this only adds to the exquisite film noir feel of the movie, and this unique mood emphasises the overall feel of sublime wickedness about Espirit De Corps. It's just a shame there was no tantalising climax to wet our appetites for Part I.

Funny, moving, riveting and quite amazing. The good news is that this is a prologue. There is no bad news.

9/10