Leeloo - The Fifth Element

Another example of red hair denoting otherness in popular culture now. I recently re-watched the sci-fi movie The Fifth Element, and it was hard not to notice the bright orange hair of its co-star Milla Jovovich.

Jovovich plays the exotic alien/goddess Leeloo, who holds the key to saving planet earth. Her performance, like her hair, is quite striking.

The movie often gets mixed reviews from critics, but I quite like it. It's quite bright and colourful. I think it's easy to make a sci-fi that's dark and moody and still retain credibility, but to make a colourful sci-fi is a real challenge. It's quite a brave and risky thing for a film-maker to do - but very worthwhile in my opinion. It's similar to songwriting - it's easy to write a moody or angry song and still retain your cool, but writing a bubbly, pop song that doesn't look cheesy takes real talent ..and a degree of risk taking credibility-wise. There are way too many cool-looking dull movies out there.