Luc Besson
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Lucy: The Hyena Montage Theory
In a statement published in the Nov. 24, 1962 Film Culture, Pier Paolo Pasolini thought about how a simple metaphor can be conveyed onscreen, starting from one solution he rejected as overall unsound: “Let us consider the following written or spoken statement: ‘Gennarino looked like a hyena.’ […] The attempt has been made to juxtapose a hyena with Gennarino by joining two frames: one showing Gennarino grinding his teeth and the other showing an actual hyena with its teeth bared. Now, I won’t say that something like this could never be done legitimately. But it would be inconceivable to think […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jul 28, 2014 -
IN PRODUCTION: “THE F WORD,” “AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS,” “MALAVITA” and “MAD MAX: FURY ROAD”
“In Production” is a regular column which focuses on notable independent films that are currently shooting. Daniel Radcliffe is stuck in the friend zone in Michael Dowse’s The F Word. Resuming his post-Harry Potter career, Radcliffe stars alongside Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks) in this romantic comedy about a young man who meets the love of his life only to discover that she is already spoken for — not the most uncommon circumstance. The cast also includes Rafe Spall (Prometheus), Megan Park (ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager) and the terrific Adam Driver (HBO’s Girls). Written by Elan Mastai (The Samaritan), […]
by Byron Camacho on Aug 20, 2012 -
The Police Procedural Breaks New Ground in Maiwenn’s Polisse
Actress-turned-director Maïwenn, best known to American audiences for a supporting role in her ex-husband Luc Besson‘s The Fifth Element, is poised with her Cannes-winning Polisse, which opens this Friday, to leap into a class of heralded young international auteurs. As much a revealing picture of the diverse, modern French middle class as it is a ripped-from-the-headlines police procedural epic, it presents the roller coaster day-to-day reality of a devoted but all-too-flawed group of cops in the Parisian Child Protection Unit as they investigate various crimes against minors, depicting their lives with a delicate but surprisingly effective mix of gallows humor and harrowing tragedy. […]
by Brandon Harris on May 17, 2012 -
DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB, LUC
In this article in The Guardian on London’s winning Olympic bid, the newspaper gives a mini-review to a new film by Luc Besson: “Earlier, Paris had been the first to address the IOC. The French attempted to match their audience, using exclusively white middle-aged men to deliver their message, culminating in a plea from President Jacques Chirac. Even a promo film directed by Luc Besson seemed staid, featuring enough talking heads to suggest the great auteur has a future in corporate videos should the Hollywood commissions end. It was unspectacular, but many believed it still might be good enough to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 6, 2005
