‘Disco Boy’ Review: Franz Rogowski Stars in an Electrifying Examination of European Neocolonialism
Courtesy of Big World Pictures
Disco Boy, the vivid feature debut from Italian filmmaker Giacomo Abbruzzese, works to interrogate the continuation of Neocolonialism and the power it still exercises in shaping the identities and communities of the modern world. Explored through the perspectives of two disparate young men, a French Foreign Legionnaire, and a Nigerian rebel group leader, Disco Boy draws connections through their marginalized experiences to emphasize the institutional powers that exploit them. Devotees of the traditional war flick will be sorely disappointed by Disco Boy as it swiftly declares its subversive and psychedelic reformations of the genre's conventions, which come together to create a unique visual and metaphorical saga for its central characters in conflict with their Colonial overlords.
Art Cinema It Boy Franz Rogowski stars as the lead in Disco Boy, Aleksei. A Belarussian with an enigmatic past who enters France illegally after a woeful journey, Aleksei's plan to obtain French citizenship seems straightforward enough: Join the French Foreign Legion, transform into an obedient soldier, and then receive a Green Card in a few short years. When Aleksei's squadron is sent to calm rebel unrest in Nigeria, the film's perspective shifts to that of Jomo (Morr Ndiaye), a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, also known as MEND. Jomo and his followers, who include his sister Udoka (Laetitia Ky, from 2020's Night of the Kings), revolt against their government's collaboration with foreign nations and businesses who have set up a major oil drilling project that is destroying the area. Residing on opposite sides of the conflict, Aleksei and Jomo's objectives draw them closer until a brutal head-to-head battle changes both of their lives forever.
Courtesy of Big World Pictures
Disco Boy uses high-octane visual language and a pulsing electronic score from French musician Vitalic that aligns well with its moody, dialogue-light narrative. Beginning with a naturalistic touch, the film gradually descends into a neon-lit nightmare reflective of Aleksei's headspace, as the hauntings of his past become irrepressible and his inextricable connection with Jomo is amplified. While many war movies concretize their belief structures and typically side with "the good guys," Abbruzzese's explorations with Disco Boy instead focus on the subjective perspectives of those fighting the conflict, slamming the nameless, faceless mechanics who initiated the dispute from thousands of miles away, in government buildings or high rise offices.
Channeling his unique brand of quiet torment, reminiscent of his role in 2021's Great Freedom, Rogowski is ideally suited to the role of Aleksei in Disco Boy. Challenging typical depictions of soldiers as the pinnacle of masculine virility, Aleksei's character crumbles in the face of violence, unable to shake off its effects on his psyche as the film moves along. The demanding nature of the role and the physicality it requires work agreeably with Rogowski's background as a former dancer, particularly during a choreographed club scene that serves as the film's hypnotic finale.
While the movie's screenplay and tonal development enrich Aleksei's character, his counterpart, Jomo, needs to be more developed. An imbalance in the structure of the film's middle portion hinders the same amount of character growth for Jomo and even his sister, Udoka. Because of this lack of evolution for these characters, audiences can only understand their actions of resistance on a shallow level, which feels like a missed opportunity to deeply delve into the historical plight of the people in the region and their ongoing infiltration by foreign interests. Despite this shortcoming in point-of-view, Disco Boy is still able to communicate powerfully its objections to Neocolonialism and its degradation of the individuals under its thumb.
Courtesy of Big World Pictures
Disco Boy's storytelling is tied to its visual style and development, and famed French cinematographer Hélène Louvart (The Lost Daughter, Firebrand, La Chimera) expertly commands its presentation. The film's expansive lexicon requires its camera to track soldiers sprinting through forests, going underwater, and even transitioning into experimental infrared imagery. Fading into glittery transitions and constantly oscillating in and out of focus, Louvart pulls together an overload of techniques to create a luscious yet horrifying appeal that perfectly reflects Aleksei's loss of identity. Disco Boy requires Louvart to flex her visionary muscles in ways audiences have not seen before, and the film would be an entirely different creature if her talented sensibilities were not part of its design.
As Aleksei grows inconsolable about the atrocities he has committed as a French Legionaire, he finally begins to show indications of resistance. Unable to continue during a training exercise, he simply stops. Refusing to go forward, his captain tells him, "You are a ghost. An illegal." Finally, understanding where he exists within this idealized version of Western Europe that he initially considered his escape to a stable life, Aleksei is forced to decide for himself, re-sublimating the individual identity he had left behind. Equally robust in its performances and cinematic language, Disco Boy works as a distinctive reworking of the denunciations of Neocolonialism that global society under Capitalism has been unable to escape for centuries, and a stand-out feature debut for its director, Abbruzzese. Disco Boy made its world premiere at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, where the film was awarded the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for its cinematography. Disco Boy will begin its theatrical release in the United States on Friday, February 2, at Quad Cinema in New York City before expanding to other cities nationwide in the following weeks.
3.5/5
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