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A new wave of ‘rubber reality’ cinema, from La Belle Époque to the latest Jumanji sequel, is coinciding with social anxiety, political populism and a loss of faith in facts
In the film La Belle Époque, which is now showing in UK cinemas, a French comic book artist called Victor (Daniel Auteuil) seeks refuge from a foundering marriage and faltering career in a meticulous facsimile of 1974. He finds himself in the bar where he first met his wife, when the world was at his feet, and where customers and staff are all still puffing away on Gauloises. It’s like a peculiarly French mashup of Westworld and The Truman Show.
Unlike Truman, though, Victor is aware that his surroundings have been artificially created, and they help him come to terms with his present. Travelling into the past is a conscious decision on his part, one that has been specifically ordered and paid for, albeit from “Les Voyageurs du Temps”, an outfit that sounds like something from a story by Philip K Dick – Rekal Incorporated, perhaps, from We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (the inspiration for Total Recall and its 2012 remake) – or from one of Charlie Kaufman’s screenplays, such as Lacuna Inc. from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Indeed, the plot of La Belle Epoque is so improbable it could almost be sci-fi, but the film has muscled its way to mainstream attention by refashioning its premise as a romantic comedy of manners. Continue reading...