It’s a good thing that Publicis Conseil’s new film for Renault (Rafale hyper hybrid E-Tech 4×4 300 hp) is riveting viewing, it’s a little hard to understand. The film, directed by Iconoclast’s Nicolas Perez Vega, is meant to show a world sliding away under the pull of gravity, while the Rafale glides through city streets with agility, thanks to its 4Control advanced with four-wheel steering system and 4-wheel drive, enabling it to stick to the road. The visual drama does overtake the concept somewhat, but you’ll probably get there in the end as the car handles a hill – and the inevitable long-and-winding road with ease. Oddly, the film concludes as the car seem to rise into the sky…it’s a little cryptic but the film and its toy airplane scene are a nod to the Caudron Renault Rafale aircraft and meant to highlight the brand’s historical legacy.

The parallel with an aircraft taking off is meant to underlined by Tiphanie Doucet’s reinterpretation of Angus and Julia Stone’s Big Jet Plane. Mostly, the soundtrack underlines the dream-like nature of the film.

“After trying the Rafale hyper hybrid E-Tech 4×4 300 hp, the film concept proposed by the agency felt like a no-brainer. The machine sticks to the road (4×4), it’s agile (4Control), serene (300 hp), enduring (hyper hybrid), everything needed for a spectacular film. All that was missing was an aerial soundtrack, unexpected and glamorous… this French cover of Big Jet Plane by Tiphanie Doucet,” stated Arnaud Belloni, Renault Global CMO.

The film’s visual effects are stunning. To create a tilted world in which characters and sets are subject to gravity, everything was planned meticulously before filming. The set was mounted on hydraulic jacks, and both actors and objects were manipulated using cables. All practical effects were captured in-camera, directly on set, to deliver the most convincing visual illusions possible.