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A Masterpiece!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The first hour or so of "Nocturama" is a dazzling and suspenseful set piece that details how a group of young terrorists carry out coordinated attacks on government and business buildings in Paris. Crisp and playful editing has the story doubling back in time and shows us how the paths of the various characters, which at first are seemingly independent of one another, intersect.Then the film enters its second half, where the terrorists hole up overnight in a shopping mall, where one of their number is a security guard, and the whole exercise falls apart. Meant to be a blistering indictment of consumer capitalism and and I suppose the hollow convictions at the center of political activism -- these kids are obsessed with the very consumer products made by the institutions they condemn -- the film instead suffers from a fatal lack of logic and realism. By the time military soldiers are prowling through the mall randomly shooting whoever they see, whether armed or not, and without the slightest interest in taking survivors for interrogation even though these are all people who are supposed to be involved in a terrorist plot, I had thrown up my hands and given up.I get it, I get it. I shouldn't get hung up on a desire for realism and should instead embrace the symbolic and representational aspects of a film like this. Which I have no trouble doing if the symbolism is handled well. If I'm not meant to take events depicted in a film at face value, then the director needs to be better at indicating that. The film doesn't follow any kind of logic, not even of the internal kind. These kids are mature enough to carry out a detailed and sophisticated terrorist plot, but then have no better plan afterwards than to hang out at the mall? They seem to think that if they can make it for 24 hours without being tracked down then they're in the clear? That doesn't make any sense. And no military group would behave the way the ones in this film do. And no news agency would be broadcasting on television that the hideout of the terrorists was known before the authorities had arrived to contain the situation. The film requires too much suspension of disbelief on the part of its audience, with the result that we can't then focus on what the film is trying to tell us.Visually and aurally the film is impressive. One just wishes the storytelling hadn't been so flabby and lazy.Grade: C+

We actually liked this.But the ending let the movie down big time. Why would the police shoot unarmed people during a terrorist incident? The police didn't know who these people were! They were likely employees, hostages, innocent bystanders. Why would they be murdered by police? Even if they were terrorists what advantage would there be in shooting an unarmed terrorist who was surrendering? This was the biggest flaw in the movie. It was a real turd in the punchbowl. But also... why did they decide to hide out in the shopping mall anyway? There didn't seem to be any good reason for doing that. Also how did the police figure out where they were? Did the director believe the film was improved by leaving out important parts of the narrative? Despite these and other glaring terrible appalling problems it was still above par. The cinematography was great.

This film truly lives up to its description as a thriller. For much of the first part, and almost all of the second, I was biting my nails and sitting on the edge of my seat. Additionally, the scenery is very beautiful as it takes place in Paris and then an extravagant department store. My thoughts are these: Firstly: BE WARNED if you don't speak French. I do, so I could understand without the subtitles. However, my friend who was sitting next to me often had to ask for translation because she didn't understand what was happening, due to the fact that the subtitles are often inaccurate. As in, whole chunks of dialogue just left out. Secondly: A few of the other reviews mention how the terrorist's motives are unclear (as in, we have no idea why they did what they did). However, I didn't see this as a flaw: It allows you think about possible motives and identify with the characters more easily. Thirdly: For anyone who cares: I would rate this movie R (it's not rated last time I checked) for: Cursing (In French and English) Some nudity (two butts) Violence - not for the sake of being violent though. Overall though, I really enjoyed this movie. I am still thinking about it for days afterword.. a good adjective is PROVOCATIVE. Don't be scared away by the long run time - it wasn't boring at all. Bonus points if you speak French, that would definitely help your understanding.

I love the Metacritic summary for „Nocturama": some young folks, tired of the society they're living in, plan a bomb attack over Paris before to take shelter for a night in a shopping center... So simple, so elegant. Unfortunately, I can't say I loved the movie itself. „Nocturama" is artsy in a bad way, all high concept and lacking in every other aspect. Also, at 130 minutes, there's nearly not enough going on to justify the length. Sure, it's a promising material for short story/movie – a psychological portrayal of how terrorism is born. On paper, any summary of "Nocturama" would seem rather captivating... but, sadly, the result is frankly dull and lifeless. The screenwriter-director Bertrand Bonello's approach to storytelling is alienating (the characters are emotionally distant from the viewer and each other), and he likes to stretch many scenes, however empty, so long that it tests the endurance of the viewer. Some filmmakers use this conceptual aloofness and emptiness very effectively, such as Jim Jarmusch, who can make the most trivial on screen actions or details seem meaningful. Sadly, Bonello is not one of those filmmakers. The emotional distance makes sense as (part of the) general message of „Nocturama" – modern life has made us cold and empty – but constantly testing our endurance without payoff does not. At least not to me.