Nocturama

the culmination of a recent spate of movies (inc. THE BLING RING, SPRING BREAKERS, even COSMOPOLIS) which present late capitalism--its worldview, its fashions and media--as a hall of mirrors, so all-encompassing that critical distance is unavailable. good luck even defining it, let alone opposing it. NOCTURAMA is fundamentally incoherent, even surreal, but the frustration turns to horror when we realise that's what bonello intends, because it's exactly who we are. bet adam curtis would love it.

Despite their discontent with status quo, nevertheless this generation has no other refuge than the consumer's paradise thrust upon them. How effective can insurgency be when the rebels are indistinguishable from the mannequins in the department stores they seek to destroy? The cloister of materialism draws explicitly from Dawn of the Dead, and the metaphor is still just as easy, but I think the subject matter and perspective make this something to really chew on.

Unforgivably dull for a film simple yet conceptually strong enough that Bonello could have jazzed it up any number of ways without compromising its message. It feels not only ambiguous but almost entirely information-free. A vague resignation, like the dark side of "the children are the future", is all that can be discerned.

Less about terrorism than about the consequences of cutting a disaffected generation off from the sense of having a place or future. However extreme their acts (and here they're not nearly as nihilistic as those that would follow in Paris after the film was conceived), the dreams of the young people shown here are extinguished, replaced by mimetic consumerist parodies. The precise geometries of the camerawork, while striving to create tension and dynamism, also expose a kind of hyper-panopticon.

Super cool movie about power walking.

(THE DEAD-FAST CLUB)

Bonello tries too hard to be a formalist dealing with empty acts of terrorism and non-judgmental with his characters -- a synthesis of french diversity filled with unemployed or angry teenagers. First half is Elephant, second is Dawn of the Dead siege that reveals terrorists dancing (Blondie, My Way, rap), make-up, TV flat screens, some booze and mannequins that mirror them (one of them is mini-Chelsea's Willian with a Neymar tee). Bonello observes and prefers not to even try to provide answers.

Bonello is a very skilled director. His mastery of creating a mood with visuals and music is incredible. So the execution of the movie is excellent. The only minor complaint I have about that is that the middle par, when they hide in the department store, could be cut shorter. But it's been more than a week now since I saw it, and I'm still not sure what Bonello wants to say about the subject of terrorism and (French) society with this movie.

What is the point of this movie? Nihilism, anarchism, self-loathing rage, powerlessness? I didn't care about any of these kids. I wanted to take the first 30 minutes of the movie and slap it for its silent mystery that failed to engage. I wanted to take the next hour and shake it to life. There is style here, but it serves no purpose.

The film doesn't ever really develop these kids as full-blooded characters, but at least while they are engaged in action, it's interesting. While they laze around a department store looking at stuff, it's not, and it's difficult to care about them as the film reaches it's inevitably tragic end. One of them does lip sync to Shirley Bassey and anot dances furiously to Blondie, so there's that.

watched a while ago, forgot to rate. great movie

The writing about this film is as much a criticism of awful writing as this film is a criticism of short-sighted, self-defeating arrogance. I think the film is intended to be very, very strong but very, very simple. Making it out to be some huge statement puts you in the camp of the kids who think their act is going to "change the world". It's not. The sole message of the film: If you are going to revolt, make sure you at least have a chance at winning. Maybe make it better-oh no, I overstepped.

The critics who thought this was the shit must find teenagers walking down hallways terribly hypnotic. But knowing them to be terrorists makes me just go `fuck these psychopaths´ for 2h straight, which is not the ideal way to spend the evening. Some of it plays like Clarke's detestable Elephant (deer waiting for the slaughter), while other parts seem to be a critique of a department store (I'm here being as obtuse as Bonello is). A neocon recruitment film, in a way.

This is probably the best horror movie since The Lords of Salem. Almost certainly underrating this.

Looks fantastic and is completely engaging, both as a crime/getaway film and as a reflection on a consumerist, product-driven world. The film is deeply pessimistic, it seems to me, about our ability to truly rebel against a consumerist society when we are clothed by it. Side note: this could very well be the greatest use of mannequins in a film ever. Sorry, Andrew McCarthy.

A well-done film, the first part it is awesome.

The house always wins.

a lot of subtext to unpack here...... but for now I admire its use of chief keef #lovesosa

The directing is very good but it's in the service of absolutely nothing

Viewed August 13, 2017.