“_It was bound to happen._”

Disturbing and hauntingly real -especially considering today’s political climate. After our screening, my roommate and I catch our bus home and didn’t talk to each other for the next 40mins. I couldn’t help it but think about the most recent news I’ve seen: white supremacy rallies, anti-racism rallies, terrorist attacks, etc. Fuelled by the news and what I had just seen in the theatre, I felt anger, excitement, fear, confusion -and somewhat determination- all at once.

NOCTURAMA is something that is happening now. The film follows 7 kids carrying out a Paris bombing and the aftermath of it. It is a modern tale of rebellion. Rebellion against consumerism and politics, of freedom and symbols, and banks. It feels like a desperate cry for people without genuine avenues of expression. In fact, we never know the true motivations behind their plans but we don’t really need to. These kids want to rebel and rip apart the system but they’re also the product of that system they’re so desperate trying to tear down, after all, in the aftermath, we see them put on suits and see mannequins dressed exactly like them. The thing about NOCTURAMA is that these kids could be everyone; they could be anyone. They want to fit in and be unique, to stand for something. They want to tear everything down but they’re also trapped in their own time and their own experiences. We see things twice or thrice from different perspectives seeing how different their reactions are, how trapped they’re in their own worlds. It is a reflection of people, but especially young people, angst. Because people are angry, but at what?

NOCTURAMA might very well be a rally against commercialism, politics and the idea that we are a free in modern society. The message of NOCTURAMA -and of modern rebellion- is that this could be you. But it is also a desperate cry for help. “_Help me_,” cries one of the characters. No one does. Everyone has already decided what he is and he isn’t allowed to be anything else. He isn’t allowed to be a teen, a victim, or anything else anymore. We'll never know why they did what they did because we don't want to listen, we don't want to know. He is a terrorist and so he must be removed. Right?