Red Sparrow is a 2018 spy-thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence who worked with Jennifer Lawrence (the star here) on a couple of the Hunger Games movies, but this is a very different beast. Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika Egorova (in, it has to be said, a not entirely convincing Russian accent), and Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenarts and Charlotte Rampling star as the film's secondary characters. This one is a pretty big departure from what Lawrence has done in the past, although it has to be said that she's making some pretty bold career choices. I'm not the first one to say that, and for a good reason: it's true. After last year's Mother! it appeared as if she was trying purposefully trying to appear in more "mature" films, and believe me, it doesn't get much more mature than Red Sparrow. The film plays out like one of those schlocky exploitation from the seventies, in that there's sexual violence, sex, violence, torture, and all manner o
A Bout de Souffle is a French New Wave film directed and written by hugely influential film-maker Jean-Luc Godard. It's probably the most influential film in modern cinema, mainly for the editing style and storytelling methods which were revolutionary at the time. It was based on a newspaper article about a man who stole a car to visit his mother, and tells the story of low-life car thief Michel who, when he kills a policeman with a stolen gun ends up the target of a countrywide manhunt. He evades the law, taking his American girlfriend with him who, over the course of the film, starts to realise who Michel really is.
A Bout de Souffle is a brilliant film for a number of reasons, and none of them are to do with the legacy the film carries to this day. Aside from its history, it's a film which explores how exactly people fall in love with criminals. Although technically the main character is Michel, the most interesting is Patricia. Smitten with his fake-movie-star persona, she overlooks his flaws at every turn and doesn't want to expect that the man she's fallen in love with is a killer. Whenever she finds proof that he isn't exactly who she says he is, she ignores it and continues to spend time with him. The lack of clarity on her position in the matter has led people to discuss the moral standing of her character ever since the film came out.
For a film made almost sixty years ago, it's endlessly stylish. If the script was discovered now and made into a full-colour film with modern stars, it would be one of the hits of the years. The way youth is portrayed in the film is so authentic and timeless that the way the characters navigate their relationship seems just as relatable now as it would have when it released all those years ago. Godard made the mundane seem incredibly relevant, and his influence can be seen in a lot of modern cinema, from things like Adventureland, the work of Richard Linklater, and a lot of stuff in the 'mumblecore' movement (particularly Frances Ha.)
It starts off slow, but as the film progresses the tension ratchets up and the action becomes far more kinetic. The reason for this is Raoul Coutard's brilliant cinematography. He famously used nothing but natural daylight instead of industry-approved lighting, and used handheld camera techniques while being pushed forward on a wheelchair to give the entire film a stripped-back 'documentary' feel, and it works incredibly well. In fact, his experimenting and daring is a big part of what makes this film so timeless.
A Bout de Souffle is a film which should be seen by anyone who even has a passing interest in cinema. It's a true classic, and one of the most important and endlessly watchable films ever made. Godard's later work may not stand up to this, but his debut is exactly what cinema should be: experimental, anarchic, daring and thrilling. It's available to stream on Amazon and YouTube.
Comments
Post a Comment