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How François Truffaut’s ‘400 Blows’ Inspired George Sikharulidze’s Coming-of-Age Tale ‘Panopticon’
'Panopticon' is a coming-of-age story about a young man floundering to find himself in the absence of any meaningful parental authority.
“Panopticon” – about the challenges a deeply religious young man, Sandro, faces as he struggles with his sexual feelings, and a difficult relationship with a largely absent father – reflects themes the director has met in his own life. A deeply intellectual director, Sikharulidze says the title, “Panopticon,” reflects the way in which society imprisons people by keeping them visible, while agents of power and authority remain invisible themselves. The director refers to the film’s final scene – where Sandro appears to have a chance of redemption – in which a college professor talks of French philosopher Michel Foucault’s reflection on Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon prison design, stating that “visibility is trap.”
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