Charles Camp A stylish and thoughtfully-executed thriller about a group of young adults who execute a terror attack in Paris. Nocturama is a difficult film to review because its intent is somewhat elusive. The filmmaker's approach is uncompromising in his choice to tell this story and explore its themes largely through visuals alone. He challenges the viewer by refraining from explicitly spelling out the details for you: the exact motivation for the attack, the details of the political climate that provoked it, the overarching themes and intent of the film etc. It simply shows you the events, even endears you to its terrorist characters, and then forces you to sit in discomfort as the credits roll without a clear idea of who you were supposed to be siding with and why. Rather than using these characters and this fictional setup to offer a more straight-forward thriller with a narratively satisfying story, the film instead seems to be using this scenario more to explore larger, more universal themes: the relationship between citizens and government, consumerist culture, the disillusionment of the youth, and the psychology of rebellion. I appreciated this approach, even if it personally left me feeling a bit unsatisfied or puzzled (which is something that may be remedied with future viewings). Regardless, the film was frequently a joy to watch. It has a clean, icy feel somewhat reminiscent of a David Fincher film and employed a lot of clever editing that played with the passage of time in interesting ways. Overall I feel it could've been a little tighter and perhaps more impactful with its themes, though it's certainly worth a watch for the strong, intelligent execution and visual prowess alone.3.5/5

Harold Boss We actually liked this.But the ending let the movie down big time. Why would the police shoot unarmed people during a terrorist incident? The police didn't know who these people were! They were likely employees, hostages, innocent bystanders. Why would they be murdered by police? Even if they were terrorists what advantage would there be in shooting an unarmed terrorist who was surrendering? This was the biggest flaw in the movie. It was a real turd in the punchbowl. But also... why did they decide to hide out in the shopping mall anyway? There didn't seem to be any good reason for doing that. Also how did the police figure out where they were? Did the director believe the film was improved by leaving out important parts of the narrative? Despite these and other glaring terrible appalling problems it was still above par. The cinematography was great.

Kapten Video I love the Metacritic summary for „Nocturama": some young folks, tired of the society they're living in, plan a bomb attack over Paris before to take shelter for a night in a shopping center... So simple, so elegant. Unfortunately, I can't say I loved the movie itself. „Nocturama" is artsy in a bad way, all high concept and lacking in every other aspect. Also, at 130 minutes, there's nearly not enough going on to justify the length. Sure, it's a promising material for short story/movie – a psychological portrayal of how terrorism is born. On paper, any summary of "Nocturama" would seem rather captivating... but, sadly, the result is frankly dull and lifeless. The screenwriter-director Bertrand Bonello's approach to storytelling is alienating (the characters are emotionally distant from the viewer and each other), and he likes to stretch many scenes, however empty, so long that it tests the endurance of the viewer. Some filmmakers use this conceptual aloofness and emptiness very effectively, such as Jim Jarmusch, who can make the most trivial on screen actions or details seem meaningful. Sadly, Bonello is not one of those filmmakers. The emotional distance makes sense as (part of the) general message of „Nocturama" – modern life has made us cold and empty – but constantly testing our endurance without payoff does not. At least not to me.

Lisa Muñoz "It's amazing how much time you can spend with a person and still know nothing about them." A quote from the Fifth Estate, where you actually DO get know the characters. In this film which is over two hours long, is long and tension-filled, but incredibly vague. A group of young Parisian terrorists, from all different backgrounds, plant bombs in different parts of the city, and take refuge inside a luxurious department store. We never find out why the kids did what they did, why and what locations were targeted, what led them to all come together to do this and what their feelings are about it. They all act indifferent, and are willing to kill anyone who finds them out. Some are more emotional than others, but the feelings are shown to a minimal extent. In the end, a squat team enter the building and literally gun down every single one of them in cold blood, including ones who are surrendering, and even a homeless couple mistaken for their part in the kid's crimes. It's a horrible disturbing picture coming out too soon after the 2015 Paris attacks.I never really like things that are too vague, and offer very little sympathy for characters. And this is no exception.