Eden Log isn't for everyone. I had a hard time getting into it; but I am glad I did. If you like experimental, ballsy filmmaking, then you might want to check this out.
It begins very slow, very minimal. Director Franck Vestiel parallels the protagonist's journey to that of the history of film. First comes still images, dipping to darkness, all black and white-- desolate.
Then the images begin to move, desaturated, and heavy with noir lighting. The sound track throbs to emphasize this.
You have the coarse shadows and inky darkness, jagged subterrian landscapes, crawling with creatures; Begotten comes to mind.
I don't know why I need to compare, but all of those pipes and broken tubes, rising steam in black and white recalls Tetsuo: The Iron Man.
It's not immediately clear what's happening, and the story comes in fragments, and soon careful drips of color follow.
Half way through, I compared the atmosphere to the original Alien, the sets to 2001: A Space Odyssey-- add to this the strange characters of Terry Gilliam.
But by the end of the film, I could recognize that Vestiel's Eden Log was a world all his own.
Eden Log is very vivid, and it's been a long time since I've seen a director with such a strikingly fresh visual style; simultaenously slick composition constrasted by a bleak, brooding desaturated color scheme.
Vestiel's worked with some of the best rising through the ranks, often as an Assistant Director-- his credits include Gaspar Noe's Sodomites, Brian Depalma Femme Fatale, Pascal Laugier (this years MM Martyrs director) film Saint Ange.
I look forward to his next film.