An abandoned seaside resort. The end of shooting a fantasy film about the end of the world. Apocalypse and Joy, two women involved in the movie, one an actor, the other the director, are about to end their relationship.
To delay Apocalypse’s departure and their last goodbye, Joy, the oldest of the two, tells her lover five dark stories. Five stories about women who don’t want to grow old. Five adventures in which science fiction, vulgarity, necrophilia, and poetry play a part.
“Rather than telling a story Ultra pulpe follows a thread, inspired by the act of inventing and telling stories. Each sequence takes place on the set of one of the pulp movies directed by Joy (hence the title), skipping from one genre to the next: a post-apocalyptic future, a horror with monsters or ghosts, eroticism, a science-fiction set on Mars… The structure of Ultra pulpe mimics the pattern of Russian nesting dolls, as each new person encountered by Joy becomes immediately, through a simple cut, not only the star of the following movie presented on screen but also its prey. In a manner which is at the same time captivating, playful and clear-headed, Mandico symbolises throughout Ultra pulpe the dual nature of cinema, an art form where actors—and especially actresses—are equally celebrated and consumed.” —Erwan Desbois
