Reflective Encounters

“We’re conditioned to think that all the spectacular events in your average Hollywood blockbuster are achieved through a few button pushes on a computer (albeit, a computer which probably costs the GDP of a small country).

[i]Saboteur[/i] takes an altogether more old-school and analogue approach, as the truth behind the making of a thriller is laid bare. As the plot of said thriller comes together, we’re given a split screen showing us what is really happening. One scene of a muscular man firing a heavy machine gun is juxtaposed with the fact that he’s hanging upside down so bullets cascade ‘up’ within the frame of the film. An armoured vehicle driving majestically through the snow is juxtaposed with the fact that it is essentially a toy.

On the one level, the joy here is the reveal behind showcasing how it all works (or at least could have worked before computers came along): the silliness and yet cleverness of some of the solutions on offer, designed to trick an audience whilst continuing to provide thrills. But there’s also a sense of lament, a farewell to an era of cinematic physicality both in terms of effects and projection. It makes for a wonderfully inventive and poignantiece of work.”

— Laurence Boyce