The Mask 1989

Directed by Johan van der Keuken

During the celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution, Johan van der Keuken made a film about the revolutionary ideals of equality, liberty and fraternity. Rather than lingering on the festivities, he lingers on the crowds in the metro and on the platform. Amongst them is Philippe, a 23 year old, homeless and with no real job. More than just a comment on the ignorance and contradictions of France at the end of the 1980s, THE MASK is an exchange of views on solitude. Isn’t the question of violence in our democracies firstly that of the real price society pays for the image it would like to show?