NOCTURAMA (2016)

French writer/director Bertrand Bonello brings focus and finesse to an extended prologue individually following eight (or is it nine?) 20-somethings moving thru Paris streets, shops & The Metro on some unexplained, tightly organized, yet apparently random path to a nearly deserted office building where they will stealthily meet in a conference room to finalize their plans for a terrorist attack on the city.  The bombs will go off perfectly; the rest of the film less so.  Using an upscale department store as overnight hideaway, political motives stubbornly remain left in doubt for generic anarchy, Bonello unwillingly to point fingers or be specific.  Such abstraction often meant to add universality to a subject (it doesn’t; being specific fosters universality), but here it just feels like a dodge, reducing the group from political agitators or sentimental sociopaths (your choice) to chumps.  Bonello does no better on logistics inside the store as pressure within the group on tactics break them into factions once their safe haven starts looking more like a trap of their own making.  In the end, government forces couldn’t care less about motive.  At last, something you can believe.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/LINK:  Pulling an overnighter at a closed department store or mall shows up in a lot of films including Chaplin’s MODERN TIMES/’36.  Or try a classic Pre-Code department store sleepover in EMPLOYEES’ ENTRANCE/’33.  It should also be noted that any Security Staff that missed their hourly phone-in during the night, would automatically trigger some response, non?    https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2018/02/employees-entrance-1933.html

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE  DAY:  The terrorists come off as arrogant, entitled pricks with undigested sophomoronic ideas on people & world politics (or is it trust fund baby syndrome?) with the exception of the token Black (no kiddin', a token Black!) who might have come out of a film or tv episode of fifty years ago.