Existentialist Cinema Makes a Surprising Comeback in Modern Film
In an era dominated by social media influencers and fleeting trends, existentialist cinema is staging an unexpected revival. François Ozon's new adaptation of Albert Camus' classic novel The Stranger and Olivier Laxe's Oscar-nominated film Sirāt are leading the charge, dusting off philosophical ennui for contemporary audiences. This resurgence prompts a deeper question: is existentialism, the philosophy that grapples with life's purpose in a godless universe, suddenly back in vogue, or is it merely a nostalgic farewell to angsty student culture?
A Fresh Take on a Timeless Masterpiece
Ozon's version of The Stranger marks a significant improvement over Luchino Visconti's 1967 adaptation, Lo Straniero. Filmed in serene silvery monochrome, the new interpretation is both tasteful and pointed. Newcomer Benjamin Voisin delivers a superb performance as Meursault, the antihero famously unmoved by his mother's death and driven to murder by the sun's glare. This portrayal presents a hard-edged nonconformist, reminiscent of a sociopathic Patrick Bateman in a colonial setting, diverging from the book's more passive figure.
Ozon injects political stridency by recentering the story on colonial power dynamics from the prologue, which features a chirpy propaganda film about Algiers. However, this raises whether such updates are enough to rekindle existentialism's fires. The mid-century world of Camus, Sartre, and de Beauvoir now feels distant, and in today's tech-driven society, navigating a meaningless universe often boils down to GPS failures rather than philosophical quests.
Existentialism's Cinematic Legacy and Modern Echoes
Historically, existentialism has had a limited direct impact on cinema due to few core texts for adaptation. Sartre's Nausea and Camus' The Plague have seen sparse film treatments, with Visconti's take on The Stranger notably fumbling the novel's radicalism. Yet, the philosophy's spirit permeates other genres. The French New Wave, with films like The 400 Blows and Breathless, embraced existentialist themes of freedom and meaning, though often through artistic experimentation rather than raw metaphysical revolution.
In the US, film noir packaged European paranoia into hardboiled pop existentialism, featuring gumshoes and drifters navigating senseless universes. This evolved into the existentialist hitman archetype, seen in classics like Le Samouraï and modern works such as The Killer. Today, this heroism is ubiquitous, from Taxi Driver to Blade Runner, making The Stranger's return less a throwback and more a cultural Rosetta Stone for understanding these narratives.
Political Focus Versus Philosophical Roots
Ozon's adaptation emphasizes anticolonialism, a departure from Camus' original muted approach. Scenes like a "No natives" sign outside a cinema and naming the victim on a headstone add moral weight. While politically relevant, this risks overshadowing the story's existential core—Meursault's rejection of external explanations for his actions. The film's moralizing tones may detract from the subjective exploration of individual purpose that defines existentialism.
Sirāt: Dancing on the Edge of the Abyss
Complementing The Stranger, Olivier Laxe's Sirāt captures existential anxiety with visceral intensity. Set in north Africa, the film follows desert ravers navigating a thin bridge between heaven and hell, echoing existentialist themes of nausea and absurdity. Sergi López's character, a father searching for his lost daughter, embodies the struggle to find meaning amid chaos, with life and death hinging on a single step.
Sirāt implies a backdrop of imminent global conflict, suggesting we are all in a geopolitical and emotional minefield. Unlike Meursault's embrace of absurdity, the film proposes dancing through despair—a nod to Nietzsche's idea of the philosopher as a good dancer. This contrast highlights existentialism's enduring appeal: in a world of algorithmic homogenization and capitalist pressures, the quest for authentic moral bearings remains urgent.
As The Stranger hits UK cinemas on 10 April, these films remind us that existentialism's spark is not extinguished. They challenge audiences to confront life's big questions anew, proving that philosophy can still resonate in our complex, modern era.
