Nocturama (2016)

Some young folks, tired of the society they're living in, plan a bomb attack over Paris before taking shelter for a night in a shopping center.

Director:

Bertrand Bonello

Writer:

Bertrand Bonello

Stars:

Finnegan Oldfield, Vincent Rottiers, Hamza Meziani

5 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Finnegan Oldfield	...	David
Vincent Rottiers	...	Greg
Hamza Meziani	...	Yacine
Manal Issa	...	Sabrina
Martin Petit-Guyot	...	André
Jamil McCraven	...	Mika
Rabah Nait Oufella	...	Omar
Laure Valentinelli	...	Sarah
Ilias Le Doré	...	Samir
Robin Goldbronn	...	Fred
Luis Rego	...	Jean-Claude
Hermine Karagheuz	...	Patricia
Adèle Haenel	...	La jeune femme au vélo
Samir Guitet
Hadidiatou Sakho

Storyline

Some young folks, tired of the society they're living in, plan a bomb attack over Paris before taking shelter for a night in a shopping center.

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Plot Keywords:

bomb | night | shopping center | la defense paris | car bomb | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

France Germany Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nocturama

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$30,157, 8 February 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rectangle Productions, Wild Bunch, Pandora Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rejected by the 2016 Cannes Film Festival due to its politically sensitive content, in light of the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015.

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Connections

References Fantastic Four (2015)

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Soundtracks

Ultraviolence
by Heartsrevolution
© 2016 Rectangle Productions

User Reviews

Stylish, intelligent, and thematically challenging

A stylish and thoughtfully-executed thriller about a group of young adults who execute a terror attack in Paris. Nocturama is a difficult film to review because its intent is somewhat elusive. The filmmaker's approach is uncompromising in his choice to tell this story and explore its themes largely through visuals alone. He challenges the viewer by refraining from explicitly spelling out the details for you: the exact motivation for the attack, the details of the political climate that provoked it, the overarching themes and intent of the film etc. It simply shows you the events, even endears you to its terrorist characters, and then forces you to sit in discomfort as the credits roll without a clear idea of who you were supposed to be siding with and why. Rather than using these characters and this fictional setup to offer a more straight-forward thriller with a narratively satisfying story, the film instead seems to be using this scenario more to explore larger, more universal themes: the relationship between citizens and government, consumerist culture, the disillusionment of the youth, and the psychology of rebellion. I appreciated this approach, even if it personally left me feeling a bit unsatisfied or puzzled (which is something that may be remedied with future viewings). Regardless, the film was frequently a joy to watch. It has a clean, icy feel somewhat reminiscent of a David Fincher film and employed a lot of clever editing that played with the passage of time in interesting ways. Overall I feel it could've been a little tighter and perhaps more impactful with its themes, though it's certainly worth a watch for the strong, intelligent execution and visual prowess alone.

3.5/5