"Only actions don't lie."
"The truth, even if no-one dares utter it, is that we no longer need children."
Ad Vitam is a French sci-fi drama originally released November 2, 2018. Netflix acquired the rights to the show (outside of France) in 2019. It debuted on the streaming service on August 2, 2019.
The world is in celebration as billions mark the 169th birthday of the oldest living person in history. As young looking now as she was in her twenties. The occasion is now seen as a symbol of humanity "conquering death" thanks to a medical breakthrough known as regeneration technology. Once a person reaches the age of thirty, they are able to access regen to cure any ailment or disease and remain biologically thirty forever.
However the technology has begun driving a wedge between the older generations and the new. There's even an upcoming referendum on restricting births to curtail population growth. Some young people are so disillusioned that they have turned to extremist ideologies. In the aftermath of the festivities, several dead bodies wash up on a beach. All under thirty. All victims of self-inflicted gunshots to the head.
Examples of tropes found in Ad Vitam:
- Attempted Suicide:
- Linus shot himself in the head along with other members of Saul during the stadium tragedy a decade ago but survived. Christa mistakenly believed he had died with the rest. It's revealed Caron saved him, unable to bring himself to deliver the coup de grace when he looked into Linus' eyes.
- Christa had stashed a gun with a single bullet in it but is stopped by her mother before it can go any further. It's the gun she was planning to use on herself on the day of the stadium suicides.
- Absurdly Youthful Mother: This is now the norm in the world, rather than the exception. A notable example is when the police go to inform Mana Ritt that her son Enoch has died. Mana could still easily pass as being in her twenties and her demeanour has an almost youthful naivete.
- Best Served Cold: Christa waits for her opportunity to avenge her boyfriend for over a decade. It's her personal motivation for helping the police. She's not even sure the individual is still alive.
- Body Horror: Fisherman stumble across a horrific looking creature in the ocean during a news story. It gets worse once an autopsy is performed and it's revealed be the missing Linn. Or at least it was her.
- Chekhov's Gun: The gun in Darius' car. Christa steals it to use to kill Caron.
- The Determinator: Darius is world weary and likely suffering from depression but never stops trying to find the missing young people. Even with retirement looming round the corner and even when he is forced retire before closing the case. His last moments are rescuing Christa from Odessa whilst bleeding to death.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Mana Ritt can't quite grasp the concept her son is dead. Darius explains death is no longer a common thing in most peoples lives. Later Mana calls into the police station, still in shock and still confused about the finality of it all. Eventually she does come to realise her son is not coming back and it causes her to attempt a murder-suicide. She kills Linus but is stopped from turning the gun on herself.
- Driven to Suicide: Saul's members are often suffering from depression and a host of mental health issues. Saul's members often prey upon this in others. It's implied many young people commit suicide after finding out they are among the unlucky few who are incompatible with regen. Saul just gives them false hope it means something.
- Face Death with Dignity: Caron's last thoughts are one of acceptance not panic or terror.
- Fantastic Slur: Linus doesn't hide his contempt for Darius, labelling the biologically immortal are just "the dead" or "ghosts." It's the sort of terminology you'd expect to be common within Saul.
- Gaining the Will to Kill: Lana knows Christa has never taken a life, so she lets he know it's a tough thing to do, no matter her motives or how much she plans it. She advises Christa not to look her target of in the eye. Otherwise she'll risk not going through with it. This was the reason Caron couldn't finish off a badly injured Linus a decade ago and instead saved him. Christa takes her advice and keeps behind Caron when marching him to the stadium field, her hand is visibly shaking, but she still shoots him in the back of the head.Lana: "A word of advice. Avoid eye contact. Or you won't be able to do it."
- Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Christa and Lesky after witnessing the shooting of Linus. Subverted in that it was still motivated as part of a greater plan. Though Christa makes it clear that she wanted it due to physical attraction too.
- History Repeats: The mass suicide of young people at the beach, brings to mind an infamous incident 10 years ago involving a mass suicide at a stadium. Both the media and police believe it's a possible resurgence of Saul, a suicide cult.
- Hypocrite:
- Many members of Saul join because they are among the very few that are genetically incompatible with regen tech. The choice to reject the technology was decided for them. As such many are just resentful they couldn't be a part of a society that they outwardly claim to hate.
- Caron was the leader for the group suicide at the stadium ten years ago and the most outspoken Saul member. He even talks Nihel into going when it's clear he's beginning to waver because he cares for Christa. He survives due to last second hesitation which comes too late for everyone else but Linus. And despite his very real guilt, he never confessed to the police.
- Instant Death Bullet: Averted with Linus who despite shooting himself point blank in the head, actually still survives. It caused partial brain damage that's strongly implied to have affected his behaviour, namely impulse control and increased aggression. He spends a full fifty minutes angrily banging on a locked door in frustration.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Linus is caught trying to steal the body what is strongly implied to be someone he was in love with out of the morgue. This in of itself is a reckless move given he's a wanted man but he then manages to get stuck in the morgue until the police show up to arrest him.
- Meaningful Name:
- The member of the species of immortal jellyfish that helped scientists created the regen was named Eva which means "life" and of course the name many languages give to Eve, the biblical mother of our species.
- Saul, the name of the suicide cult is named for the biblical Saul. He famously threw himself on his sword to avoid capture after a major defeat. The cult sees killing themselves as avoiding being trapped in the corrupt physical world and being denied the reward of the afterlife.
- Miles to Go Before I Sleep:
- Darius has grown weary of the 99 years he's seen with the police and perhaps just tired of life in general. But he's good at what he does and still persists nonetheless. Beta believes he is a Death Seeker, that he's given up, but Christa feels he may be tired but he'd never quit on life. Even until his last breath he was still going out of his way to help other people, saving Christa, dozens of missing people, and exposing Odessa.
- Virgil/Caron is forever haunted by what happened at the stadium 10 years ago and what he did would be utterly unforgivable. He's tried to sway others down a different path, to redeem himself but he still dreams every night of the dead coming for him. And in the end when Christa brings him back there to kill him where Nihel, and all the others died, his reaction isn't one of surprise but odd acceptance.
"I never left the stadium." - "Not So Different" Remark: Virgil is horrified when Odessa murders one of his staff in cold blood to make sure he stays in line and to ensure no loose ends. She points out that he's in no position to judge what with him actually being Caron and the man who got 23 other children to shoot themselves.
- Older Than They Look: Discussed Trope. Most of the population look nothing like their real age. A popular ice breaker in the setting is ask what age a person is or to try and guess it.
- The Plague: There was a pandemic sweeping through the world that began in North America over a century ago. Millions had died in just a few months. Darius and his son both fell prey to it like so many others. The disease seemingly had no cure with Darius pointing out that they'd even tried chemotherapy to no avail. The invention of regen played a role in combating it. Darius was prioritised for early trials because he was a police officer and his condition in the terminal stage.
- Self-Made Orphan:
- Darius mentions parricide is now one of the leading causes of death. This ties into the growing resentment and desperation building from the youngest generation. As a result mental health issues among the young is skyrocketing.
- We're told one horror story of a girl who killed her parents and carved wrinkles into their faces, so she could she them as they really were.
- Christa mentioned her parents have always been terrified of her. And when she asks Lana to get her a weapon Lana's first assumption is that it's for one of her parents.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Darius delivers one of these to Linus in his cell to try and break him for info. It gets to Linus but he still refuses to divulge any info.Darius: You think you've thought a lot about this, right? But when I've read what you've written, I just don't think you know a thing. Death to you is just an abstraction. "The other world," "the beyond," "paradise," "the heavenly realm." They're just images. When you've lived with the stench of disease, when you've felt you're own skin rotting, when you cry every time you piss, then you necessarily see things quite differently."
- Rule of Symbolism: Jellyfish serve as symbol of the regen technology and as such in-universe have become a cultural symbol of eternal youth and immortality. The same species of immortal jellyfish that helped create the breakthrough of regen are even kept as social status pets.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: A major theme throughout the film and one that is discussed frequently.
- There are religious people, such as the Church of Glorification, that elect to simply grow old and die. They see it as a natural part of life and without it there will always be something missing.
- The death cultists Saul believe that immortality is utterly abhorrent and that in order to save their souls, it must be rejected without reservation. The ultimate rejection being suicide at a young age.
- Among those who have lived especially long, a large number are miserable but have lived too long to simply let themselves die of old age. So they turn to all manner of empty vices to temporarily distract themselves. It's hinted this may happen to everyone and it's really just a matter of time.
