frfilmtv1-7, Exercise 3: Cinema du look

Model answer:

The cinema du look was a loose tendency of 1980s French films that were fast, stylish and visually bold, with neon colours, pop music and advertising techniques, and little interest in realism. The label came from critics; it is not a formal movement.

Directors and films: Jean-Jacques Beineix, Diva (1981); Luc Besson, Subway (1985) or Nikita (1990); Leos Carax, Mauvais sang (1986) or Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991).

Critics' view: style over substance, empty advertising aesthetics. Supporters' view: the look was the content, a generation raised on television, music video and advertising finding its own visual language.