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Panique

Saw Panique at Film Forum last night. I’ll ruin it for you: it’s about a nasty little community in France that, after a murder of a local women, eventually riots and chases down a sad, lonely intellectual (and jew) and then humiliates him just before he falls to his death. The anti-semitic aspect isn’t very explicit but all the more relevant as this film came out in 1946. I found it to be very reminiscent of Dogville.

Walking away afterwards in the extremely cold rain and high winds, I asked S what she thought and she said it was sad. Indeed it was. There’s something there about he plight of the intellectual amid bourgeoisie society. But also of the female witch character who drives the plot. Too weak to do the right thing but capable enough to damage others. It’s this trope and others that keep the film from being anything close to a classic, but still worthwhile to see. Especially in this time of angry crowds.

#film

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