Luc Besson wanted the action scenes in "The Fifth Element" (1997) to unfold in bright daylight. Tired of the usual dark spaceship corridors and shadowy planets in sci-fi films, he envisioned a world bursting with energy and color. Instead of a cold, bleak future, he aimed for something vibrant, what he called "cheerfully crazy." His goal was to make the film feel alive, like a futuristic painting filled with movement and excitement.
The story had been with him since childhood. Feeling isolated, he created an elaborate sci-fi world in his mind as an escape. At 16, he started writing it down, crafting characters, cities, and conflicts that would later shape the film’s universe. It was a deeply personal creation, one he refined for more than two decades before it finally reached the screen. When the film premiered, Besson was 38, and every detail reflected his long journey with the story.
One of the most personal touches in the film was the choice to make Korben Dallas a taxi driver. This decision came from Besson’s own life. His father worked a second job as a taxi driver to support his son’s artistic dreams, allowing him to attend art school. In tribute, Besson made taxi drivers a recurring presence in his films, honoring his father’s sacrifices.
At the time of its release, "The Fifth Element" (1997) was the most expensive film ever produced outside Hollywood. With an $80 million budget, it became the biggest production in Gaumont’s history, a risk for the French studio. A significant portion of the budget was dedicated to groundbreaking visual effects, making it the most visually ambitious sci-fi film of its era. Besson decided not to rely on Hollywood’s special effects studios, instead hiring a French visual effects team. He also collaborated with celebrated comic book artist Jean-Claude Mézières, whose work had inspired many of the film’s futuristic designs. Mézières had long envisioned flying taxis and sprawling vertical cities in his comics, and now, his visions were fully realized on screen.
Beyond the visuals, one of the most unique aspects of the film was the "Divine Language" spoken by Leeloo. Besson personally created this language, limiting it to just 400 words. Milla Jovovich, who played Leeloo, was already fluent in four languages, making it easy for her to learn. She and Besson practiced by writing letters and having full conversations in the language, developing it into something fluid and natural rather than a series of memorized sounds. By the time filming ended, they could speak it fluently, making it one of the rare fictional languages in cinema that was truly functional.
Besson’s attention to detail extended to every part of the film. The costumes, designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier, were another defining element, breaking away from traditional sci-fi aesthetics. Instead of bulky armor or sterile space suits, Gaultier introduced bold, avant-garde designs, with Leeloo’s iconic bandage outfit and the flamboyant wardrobe of Ruby Rhod standing out. His designs made the film’s world feel eccentric yet stylish, setting it apart from other sci-fi films of the era.
Music was another essential part of the film’s identity. Eric Serra’s score blended electronic sounds, operatic vocals, and futuristic beats to enhance the film’s surreal energy. One of the most memorable moments, the "Diva Dance" performance, was designed to be impossible for a human singer to replicate perfectly. The song featured jumps between notes that were artificially stitched together, yet soprano Inva Mula came close to achieving them live, creating one of the most unforgettable sequences in sci-fi history.
Instead of following the dark, industrial look that defined 90s sci-fi, "The Fifth Element" (1997) exploded with color, humor, and kinetic energy. Every choice Besson made defied convention, crafting a film that felt like a comic book come to life. His vision shaped a world unlike anything seen before, a world that still stands out as one of the most visually imaginative in cinema history.