Monday, 2 March 2009

Marseillaise

Also Known As/Subtitle:
Unknown
Year:
1937
Country:
France…
Predominant Genre:
Historical
Director:
Jean Renoir…
Outstanding Performances:
None
Premiss:
A news-reel like movie about early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of individual people, citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course, the king.
Themes:
Alienation
Communism
Courage
Destiny
Family
Friendship
Humanity
Identity
Loyalty
Nostalgia
Personal change
Political Correctness
Self-belief
Self-expression
Social class
Snobbery
White culture
Similar (in Plot, Theme or Style) to:
Unknown
Review Format:
DVD

How Politicians See Things

Elliptical, tableau vivant style narrative with little in the way of developed characters. The archetypes on show, however, provide a salutary history lesson about the French Revolution and, by extension, all revolutions. They do so without the unnecessary distractions of a love story set against the backdrop of a political upheaval getting in the way of the straightforward retelling of historical facts.

This is more of a politicians' eye view of history, seen as struggles between masses of individuals rather than the individuals themselves. The latter are taken as read with little distracting emphasis.

The acting style is overblown to match the hyperbole of the events shown and the emotions they arouse. While the political ideals discussed are presented soundly in terms of a dialectic regarding historical inevitability.


Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

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Science:



No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power.



Jacob Bronowski… (1908 - 74), British scientist, author. Encounter (London, July 1971).


Sleep of Reason:



The dream of reason produces monsters. Imagination deserted by reason creates impossible, useless thoughts. United with reason, imagination is the mother of all art and the source of all its beauty.



Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes… (1746-1828), Spanish painter. Caption to Caprichos, number 43, a series of eighty etchings completed in 1798, satirical and grotesque in form.


Humans & Aliens:



I am human and let nothing human be alien to me.



Terence… (circa 190-159 BC), Roman dramatist. Chremes, in The Self-Tormentor [Heauton Timorumenos], act 1, scene 1.


Führerprinzip:



One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves… There is no organ of conciliation or mediation interposed between the leader and the people, nothing in fact but the apparatus - in other words, the party - which is the emanation of the leader and the tool of his will to oppress. In this way the first and sole principle of this degraded form of mysticism is born, the Führerprinzip, which restores idolatry and a debased deity to the world of nihilism.