Style Over Substance
Cinéma du look was a slick, stylish, and self-consciously cool wave of French filmmaking that emerged in the 1980s. The term was coined by critic Raphaël Bassan in 1989 to describe a group of directors whose work shared a highly polished, visually extravagant aesthetic. The movement was seen as a reaction against the politically charged and ideologically driven cinema of the post-1968 era, as well as the more literary, script-focused traditions of mainstream French film. These directors were less interested in social commentary or psychological depth and more concerned with creating a cinema of pure sensation. For them, the image—the “look”—was everything.
This was a postmodern cinema, deeply influenced by the burgeoning visual culture of the 1980s, including high-fashion advertising, music videos, and comic books. The films often featured alienated, youthful protagonists living on the margins of society, and their stories were frequently set in a romanticized, neon-lit Parisian underground.
The “Holy Trinity” of Look
The movement is primarily associated with three key directors, each of whom made a series of defining films during this period:
- Jean-Jacques Beineix: His film Diva (1981) is often considered the first and most definitive film of the movement. Its combination of a thriller plot with a vibrant, pop-art visual style was a radical departure in French cinema.
- Luc Besson: Besson achieved massive international success with films like Subway (1985), The Big Blue (1988), and Nikita (1990). His work epitomized the movement’s blend of high-octane action, romance, and slick commercial visuals.
- Leos Carax: Carax was the most critically acclaimed and art-house-oriented of the three. His films Boy Meets Girl (1984) and Mauvais Sang (1986) were visually dazzling and emotionally intense explorations of doomed romance, paying homage to the French New Wave while creating a unique, hyper-stylized world.
Key Aesthetic Elements
Films of the Cinéma du look are instantly recognizable by their visual flair:
- Vibrant, Saturated Colors: A rejection of realism in favor of a palette of bold primary colors, especially blues and reds.
- Spectacular Set Pieces: The films are filled with visually stunning, often non-narrative sequences, such as elaborate chase scenes or musical numbers.
- Emphasis on Surfaces: A fascination with reflective surfaces, neon lights, and a glossy, high-tech aesthetic.
- Youth-Centric: The protagonists are young, beautiful, and often part of a counter-cultural tribe.
- Eclectic Soundtracks: The scores often mixed opera and classical music with contemporary synth-pop.
Critics at the time were often dismissive of the movement, deriding it as shallow, commercial, and a case of “style over substance.” However, in retrospect, Cinéma du look is seen as a vibrant and influential moment in French film history, one that captured the postmodern spirit of its decade and paved the way for a more visually oriented style of global filmmaking.