Docudrama shot for French TV, now on the festival circuit. Definitely worth seeing -- much better than the few published reviews (notably the NY Times') suggested. It's an ingenious counterpart to the rediscovered gem "Battle of Algiers." Although the first-time director cites some rather pedestrian filmmakers as his role models, he's significantly more skillful than they are. The camera keeps moving. The scenes crackle with tension. The staging and editing have a contemporary pacing, although the production design provides an authentic period feel.
Maybe Manolha Dargis was out buying popcorn, but this film doesn't shrink from making moral indictments. It shows racist, trigger-happy police shooting unarmed, nonviolent demonstrators. Again and again. These scenes have almost the accusatory tone of a Holocaust documentary. Still, the film acknowledges complexity -- sketching several morally conflicted characters.
Looks like it was shot in high-definition video (not film), but still looks good projected. The muted nighttime colors look convincingly like film stock from 1961.
Maybe Manolha Dargis was out buying popcorn, but this film doesn't shrink from making moral indictments. It shows racist, trigger-happy police shooting unarmed, nonviolent demonstrators. Again and again. These scenes have almost the accusatory tone of a Holocaust documentary. Still, the film acknowledges complexity -- sketching several morally conflicted characters.
Looks like it was shot in high-definition video (not film), but still looks good projected. The muted nighttime colors look convincingly like film stock from 1961.