'NOCTURAMA': Four Stars (Out of Five)
A French-language dramatic thriller about a group of young multiracial radicals that commit a terrorist attack in Paris. It was written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, and it's one of the best reviewed movies of 2017. The film stars Finnegan Oldfield, Vincent Rottiers, Hamza Meziani, Manal Issa, Martin Guyot, Jamil McCraven and Rabah Nait Oufella. I found it to be long, and disturbing, but definitely interesting and well made too.
The story is set in Paris, when a group of young multiracial adults decide they're fed up with the current government and need to do something about it. So they stage multiple bombings; on a government building, an office tower, and a statue of Joan of Arc. The group then hides out in a shopping mall, while they wait for tensions to die down outside. As they wait, the stress among them builds to extreme levels.
The movie does a great job of making the young terrorists seem sympathetic, and relatable. Of course most of us would never do what they do in the film, but still the filmmakers paint a very understanding picture of their reasons and motives. You have to respect a film that can make the viewer respect those that are usually seen as the most deplorable among us, and that's what this movie does. It's a bit long, and definitely dark, but it's still more than worth a viewing.
