Luc Besson's The Fifth Element was inspired initially by French comic books that the director read growing up. Besson wanted to explore the political corruption within the world. Leeloo is created to save the world, but the question of whether the world deserves to be saved is posed by the director. Besson allows the science fiction world to come to life in his film that explores the possibilities of inter-galaxy travel and multiple species that exist in the universe in a way similar to different cultures on the earth. They fight for power and money. Life is valued in such a way that it is not honored.
Though Besson's film exists within the realm of space and we see multiple planets and ways of travel that do not exist to date, the true nature of the film lies within Leeloo. Her vulnerability and capacity for love and her value for life. Every single single life. Her reaction to witnessing death for the first time reveals an understanding that death is traumatic. That life being taken away from someone is the greatest loss one can experience, but we do not value it in a way that we hold it sacred.
