double feature #2: the party before the revolution

dazed and confused-richard linklater 1993
the rules of the game-jean renoir 1939

both of these films take place on the cusp of sweeping social changes. the french countryside before the overtaking of paris by the nazis and a small texas football town full of the college grads of the reagan era set the stage for sweeping multiple protagonist antropological studies which feature their subjects milling about their natural habitats. the aristocrats in renoir's film drink and hunt birds and roam around a mansion, given the freedom to come and go as they please floating in and out of space as easily as they float in and out of interpersonal linkings. the kids of dazed and confused, the soon to be seniors of 76, drink and smoke and hunt freshmen (with paddles!), and roam around places like the emporium, top notch, and the moon tower. their freedom is much the same. this freedom occasionally goes too far resulting in occasional outbreaks of violence.

there ends up a heady, bubbly concoction which makes one giddy with the whirling view that creates a hazy snapshot of a group of people in a certain period of time right before everything in their lives changed. it is interesting to note that renoir made his film in the time it takes place while linklater had the luxury of many years hindsight, especially when the fact that both films are tinged with a hint of nostalgia for halcyon days gone by. its as if renoir had the foresight to know in advance what linklater saw in the history following the summer of the bicentenial. in the end we know that after the final reel has unspooled that the aristocrats in the french countryside were subject to massive limitations on their previous freedoms often resulting to the sale of one's soul. the stoner kids put on ties and went to wall street. or more site specifically went to work for the oil companies and defense contractors that were so popular in the days of trickle down economics. they didnt have much soul left either.

but at least they had one last big fucking blowout...it was fun...and its fun to watch.