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Poster for IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLUE RASCAL

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLUE RASCAL

Director: Pierre Clémenti Run Time: 81 min. Release Year: 1986 Language: French

Starring: Achmi Gachem, Gérard Zalcberg, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Pierre Clémenti, Simon Reggiani

300 kilos of heroin have disappeared in Necrocity, a city of terror—a city of night—where Captain Speed has a gang and the government hides the dead. An experimental crime film considered to be a landmark of Parisian underground cinema.

“Exudes the incomparable pathos of 60’s Avant Garde, a la Kenneth Anger, Derek Jarman and Jack Smith (which is a movement Clementi has every right to belong to but is sadly often left unmentioned imho). The main difference is that instead of dealing with neo-pagan free-thinkers, it’s dealing with the 80’s underground club-junkies and it is a match made in heaven. It’s a profound introspection using the gritty examples of the Parisian drug world using one of the most industrial film movements out there.” Wormy, Letterboxd

“Crime film goes Genet by way of post punk dystopic science fiction. In a police state there is nothing more radical than just be. The authenticity of body as a political instance. All of Pierre Clementi directorial work is worried with the idea of transgressive potency of gesture (most of Clementi’s work as an actor, at least when he is given freedom by his collaborators, does the same), but none of his other films manage to achieve this with such radical trust which is ironical given that this is the closest Clementi come of doing a narrative film. Ways of being just become at same time something mysterious and utter political.” Filipe Furtado, Letterboxd

“some cool ass no-budge queer cyberpunk” picaro, Letterboxd

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