Valerian and Laureline are special agents of the human police
force in the distant future, in a time when many alien races live together on a
large space station. In a dream, Valerian saw than an idyllic world was
destroyed by warfare. The world possessed items of great power, and Valerian
and Laureline have been charged with retrieving the items for the human
government. When they return to their space station, they find things amiss:
there is a mysterious radioactive area in the station, several soliders have
gone to investigate but have not returned, and it seems that the race that
lived on the idyllic world may have come for revenge.
*SPOILERS AHEAD THE REST OF THE WAY*
The Adoption
Connection
There is no adoption theme. The spirit of one alien has
chosen to reside for a time in the body of Valerian. The alien’s mother is able
to recognize the spirit of her daughter in Valerian, and finds peace in seeing
her again, after seeing her daughter die some time earlier.
Strong Points
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a visually
beautiful film.
The aliens that the humans fear are not out for revenge;
they are only trying to recreate what the humans were responsible for
destroying.
The film shows the power of forgiveness. The young heroes
are courageous.
Challenges
It is hard to see the alien princess stuck outside of the
shelter when space war debris is falling on the planet. Her parents look on
grieving as she turns to face her inevitable death.
One of the aliens is being tortured; the government official
who ordered the destruction of their planet is trying to cover his tracks so
that no one learns that he gave an order to decimate a populated planet. To
protect this secret, he is willing to kill all of the surviving aliens and any
humans who know what he did.
A life form has been held in slavery and forced to perform
seductive dances. Valerian frees it.
A large alien intends to kill and eat Laureline. He prepares
to sever the top of her skull, before he is violently killed by Valerian. I
found this scene disturbing.
Recommendations
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is an
imaginative science-fiction story that seems more likely to appeal to fans of
Star Trek than fans of Star Wars. It doesn’t seem likely to appeal to very
young viewers, but should be OK for kids 12 and up, so long as they’re not
disturbed by some of the violence, and the scene where a young woman was almost
eaten by an alien or the scene where a young adult alien faces her death.
Questions for
Discussion
Which character was the bravest?
How do you define love?
What makes it possible for people to forgive?
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