In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he asks: what would happen if one of the prisoners managed to break free from their chains and escape the cave? And what if that prisoner was Jay (Naïm El Kaldaoui), a 7-year-old boy?
With Urban Allegory, Alice Rohrwacher and JR present a powerful film in the form of an allegory, prompting the viewer to reflect on what freedom is and what it means. Is reality an illusion?
Based on the concept of the Platonic cave, Urban Allegory leads the viewer to question their perception of reality. But it does so through the eyes of a 7-year-old child.
But what is this Plato’s theory?
The myth imagines humanity chained, their gaze fixed on the back of a cave, watching shadows move across the walls, believing them to be reality. In a way, it’s a bit like the concept of a visual bias. Since we only see a part of the whole and only see things based on our own knowledge, we sometimes end up imagining things as absolute truths when in fact they are illusions.
To illustrate this concept of illusion, the filmmakers use a multitude of techniques. First, by using a child and contrasting him with his mother, we immediately have two visions of the world: that of the child, who is more inclined to let his imagination take over reality, and that of the mother, who lives in a much more real world. Between the two, we have the director (Leos Carax) who, as an artist and adult, allows illusion to invade his universe in a controlled way.
There is, then, the use of shadows that directly illustrate Plato’s theory. But here, they are the shadows of dancers. There is also the use of animation to integrate the child onto the city wall, literally allowing him to blend into the scenery. Then, there is this sublime use of mixing cave and film set…
Tearing Down the Walls
True to form, Rohrwacher uses the surreal and integrates it into a raw reality, creating a kind of surreal realism. This is a technique she employs (here with JR) to emphasize more theoretical concepts, integrating them into a real-world context. In Le meraviglie, for example, she integrated a film shoot into a place that should have been ordinary for children but suddenly became magical. In La Chimera, she used the Indiana Jones genre film to show the belonging to the past concept and what objects can represent in a historical context.
Jay (Naïm El Kaldaoui)
The duo, in An Urban Allegory, has worked extensively on the image and its meaning. In the past two or three years, our relationship to images has been in flux, and this film arrives at the right moment to question it.
The second part of the film brings the young boy into the reality of the city, but while still allowing the child’s imagination to be part of that reality. Thus, he wanders the streets near the theater and literally tears down walls to give the audience a sublime vision of a cave. Yes, the famous cave of Plato’s illusion.
But is this cave, which appears on a wall when the boy discovers and tears away wallpaper, the true reality or the illusion itself? This scene of discovery is simply masterful. Not only is it incredibly beautiful cinematically, but it is also powerful from an allegorical point of view.
Are we to believe that walls prevent us from appreciating the beauty they hide? Like any strong work, the answer isn’t explicitly given. Rather, it’s up to each viewer to reflect on it and find their own answer.
A Little More…
With An Urban Allegory, Alice Rohrwacher and JR offer a film that can be watched both for simple relaxation, taking it at face value, or as a work leading to philosophical reflection on reality.
As we live in a world that increasingly blends the true and the false, the physical and the digital, the real and the illusory, this kind of film allows us to become aware of the need for reflection. These reflections are as much for society as for individuals.
Ultimately, these two artists offer a film that is an absolute must-see.
