mondaymovie, diva, french film, 1980s, cinema du look, film, cinema, cyberpunk, moped, metro, paris Matthew Ward mondaymovie, diva, french film, 1980s, cinema du look, film, cinema, cyberpunk, moped, metro, paris Matthew Ward

DIVA (1981)

1981 French cyberpunk thriller

File Under: French New Wave Revival, Neon Noir, High Style, Operatic Thriller.

Jean Jacques Beinex delivers a feast for the eyes (and ears) in his first feature length “DIVA”, a genre bending cyberpunk thriller, love story, and testament to the power of music. In “Diva” Beinex explodes conventional narrative structure to pursue a new style of filmmaking that would be coined by French critic Raphael Bassan as “cinema du look”. 

When an opera recording is pirated by an obsessive fan, the forces of the criminal underbelly of Paris are awakened, events are triggered, characters weave through the futuristic industrial wastelands + subways of the city, storylines combine, an epic chase scene ensues, the clash between high and low brow society  forms before our eyes; all moving the visual, thematic and stylistic elements to the fore, further enhanced by a modern remaster of the original 35mm.

"Diva", Jean-Jacques Beineix. 1981, France.
Running Time: 117 Minutes. French.
Available for rent on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

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tres colours, rouge, french film, polish film, 1990s, complex, social commentary Matthew Ward tres colours, rouge, french film, polish film, 1990s, complex, social commentary Matthew Ward

ROUGE

1994 french romantic mystery from tres coleurs series

Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Rouge” is the third film of his Trois Coleurs series. A chance encounter between a Geneva model named Valentine, played by the ravishing beauty Irene Jacob, and an off-putting retired judge, played by French legend Jean-Louis Trintignant, becomes a metaphysical exploration of the bonds of human relationships, the ethics of surveillance and personal privacy, and how each action in life is beautifully and frighteningly out of our control. 

“This is a film about communication that disappears. We have better and better tools and less and less communication with each other. We only exchange information.”-Krzysztof Kieślowski

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shock and awe, cinema, french film, 1971, alain robbe grillet, eden and after, n . took the dice, subversive, imagery, sex, violence, adults only Matthew Ward shock and awe, cinema, french film, 1971, alain robbe grillet, eden and after, n . took the dice, subversive, imagery, sex, violence, adults only Matthew Ward

N.APRIS LES DES

1971 avant garde shock and awe film . Adults only.

French experimental film writer/ director, Alaine Robbe Grillet presents a remix of his own work, “Eden and After”, taking subversion to a whole new level, confronting the viewer with surreal collages of potent carnal imagery. Plot is secondary. Strap on your seat belt for a sensory overload.: “N. Took the Dice”. Full film linked below. ADULTS ONLY.

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