On Narratives and National Cinema

Part 1

In order to convince the audience, a narrative is often expected to be identified by its close relations to history, culture and traditions of a nation. Studying different cases, it seems that every nation has got its own narratives, but a paradoxical question also remains with no answer. In so many cases, the first acquaintance with national roots is made through some narratives. Then the constant references to Levi-Strauss’s ideas are not the only way to deal with the narratives of a nation. Besides when the winds of change begin blowing, the national roots could be easily forgotten in some certain periods. Therefore, in order to focus more carefully on the narratives, it seems that different cases should be thoroughly studied case by case.

Historical Experiences: Revolution or Reform

In late fifties-early sixties, there are two films providing the opportunity for building up a comparative study. There are some resemblances in the plotlines: an adolescent, who is unable to connect to his family members and often hangs out with some unfit friend(s), is arrested for a petty crime and sent to a detention center. But confronting the unbearable atmosphere of the center, each character goes his way.

In LES 400 COUPS (1959, François Truffaut), Antoine Doinel does not find anything to calm down his restless soul. So he turns into a rebel man breaking the law and escaping to the wide blue see, but eventually looking to the camera, he does not have any idea about the future.

In THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962, Tony Richardson), which is adapted from a short story written by Alan Sillitoe in 1959, Colin Smith finds out that long distance running is his sole road to the freedom. In a race organized by the detention center, he stops a few steps before the finish line and gazes at the governor as a gesture of protest. In the final shot, the young boy is punished to work for the system.

The difference between the French film and the British film is laid in the historical backgrounds of these countries. Coming from a history of revolution and rebellion, Antoine Doinel does not stand the tyrannical rules basically and gets away from them ultimately. Contrarily rooting in a protest and reform background, Colin Smith stands against ruling systems and protests in order to take a step forward. In numerous highly-acclaimed examples in French New Wave and British Free Cinema, the movies reflect the contradictions between urgency of defiance and virtue of obeyance.

When a few years later, the earth was rocked by the rebellious souls and the dream of a better world mesmerized whole the world, there were remarkable films made in Britain reflecting the revolutionary hopes of ex-angry-young-men. Though some highly acclaimed conservative pieces – like A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966, Fred Zinneman) and THE LION IN WINTER (1968, Anthony Harvey) – were made in praise of the British political traditions, a new trend marked derivation from the old rituals and habits of a nation. The change was evident when IF… (1968, Lindsay Anderson) was made as a new variation of ZÉRO DE CONDUITE (1933, Jean Vigo) to focus more seriously on revolution and paved the way for radical, frantic films by such outstanding filmmakers as Ken Russell, Stanley Kubrick, etc.

K.