Film Forum

“To be young was very heaven.” – William Wordsworth. IN THE INTENSE NOW immerses itself in the excitement and heady idealism of the ‘60s. Inspired by Chris Marker’s meditative essays on political radicalism, João Moreira Salles brilliantly collages archival materials from Paris ’68, Prague Spring (and the Soviet invasion), and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. He explores how the intensity of thinking one is revolutionizing the world can feel a lot like the ecstasy of falling in love. And when that moment fades, life’s quotidian realities can become a hard pill to swallow. This is a film that puts those profoundly significant events of 50 years ago into something like proportion. It’s a movie for everyone who ever marched for civil rights, shouted an anti-war slogan, or expected the women’s movement to usher in a brave new world.

With support from the Richard Brick, Geri Ashur, and Sara Bershtel Fund for Social Justice Documentaries

Part of Carnegie Hall’s city-wide festival The ‘60s: The Years That Changed America

BRAZIL • 2017 • 127  MINS • IN PORTUGUESE, FRENCH, AND CZECH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Reviews

“The golden anniversary of 1968 is off to a provocative start with...IN THE INTENSE NOW. The movie is at once melancholy, inspiring, and evocative.”
– J. Hoberman, The New York Review of Books online

“(You) will find solace, enlightenment and surprise. A bittersweet, ruminative documentary essay composed of footage from the era accompanied by thoughtful, disarmingly personal voice-over narration…Mr. Salles offers both fresh visual material and a gently revisionist interpretation of events. (The film) disdains the easy sentimentality of lost causes...(and) reveals… the inevitable aestheticization of the past. For a few hours, we are caught up in the intensity of then.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Brilliant. An absolutely essential work. Salles casts a cold, clear eye on the struggle and is perfectly aware of its wonders and its flaws. (The film asks): How do you go on when you sense that you’ve already lived the highest point of your life? As Salles says, to see Cohn-Bendit in action is to think the future belonged to the young.”
– Mitchell Abidor, Jewish Currents

“Bottles up the spirit of 1968, lights it and throws it in the street! Salles neither glorifies what happened in May 1968, nor dismisses it as naive. The legacy of 1968 is that it made people ‘woke.’ Its impact is still felt from the Occupy Movement to the more recent Black Lives Matter and #metoo movements.”
– Dustin Chang, Screen Anarchy

“A haunting record of history made poetic. Reminiscent of the films of Chris Marker...an immersive and highly personal film. Hypnotic in its provocation.”
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety