A revolution doesn’t always need a crowd. Sometimes, it starts with a screen and a story. In film, “revolution” can be loosely defined, but it usually involves a new leader rising up to overthrow a corrupt political or ideological system.
One early example of this is La Marseillaise, Jean Renoir’s 1938 tribute to the French Revolution, was partly funded by the left-wing Popular Front, supported by the National Trade Union and the French Communist Party, creating tremendous political pressure on Renoir. However, Renoir’s dedication to authenticity caused him to deviate from the grand, heroic vision that his investors had anticipated. The movie honored the civilians who continued the revolution rather than highlighting its leaders. Renoir sought to reveal the civil reality hidden beneath historical imagery.
A similar sense of resistance runs through V for Vendetta (2005), a film that explores the struggle between freedom and state control, drawing on imagery from classic totalitarian icons, including George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. The setting of the film resembles the Nazi occupation with the portrayal of a racial purist dictator and the persecution of homosexuals. As V, an anarchist and masked freedom fighter, attempts to ignite a revolution through elaborate acts of terrorism, the film channels our desire for liberation from oppression.
Whether they reflect on past uprisings or act as catalysts for new ones, revolutionary films have the power to provoke resistance. But lately, it feels like that power is missing. It’s hard to name a recent film that genuinely engages with revolution. Snowpiercer (2013) might be one of the few, but its rarity shows how uncommon such stories have become.
Political conflict is pervasive, and the people in power are often deeply questionable. There are plenty of films that critique society, but stories about revolution have their own purpose. They offer the satisfaction of seeing systems fall, justice prevail, and people fight back. And that seems like where cinema’s power feels most urgent and most alive.
Photo by Koshu Kunii on Unsplash