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La Roue

Name: La Roue
Director: Abel Gance
Released: 1923
Duration: 418 min

Representation Score

2.1/10

Limited

1923

Not Rated

Director

Abel Gance

Runtime

418 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Abel Gance’s masterpiece is a study of human volatility and the crushing weight of modernity. It prioritizes psychological depth and rhythmic, sensory experience over social representation, using innovative montage to disrupt traditional storytelling structures. The film makes notable strides in gendered ability to act, presenting a female protagonist whose intense passions dictate the plot's trajectory. This moves the character away from the era's standard passive domestic clichés. However, the work remains a product of its historical milieu. The lack of multi-layered diversity and the reliance on a homogeneous European cast result in a narrow social scope.

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Category Breakdown

Does La Roue have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The story revolves around a tragic love triangle within a straight-centered framework. There are no queer subtexts or non-cisgender identities represented in the character arcs.

How does La Roue portray gender?

Fair

Norma stands out by driving the film's tragic momentum through her own choices, challenging traditional gender roles of the time. Her intense passions and actions move the narrative forward.

How racially and ethnically diverse is La Roue?

Minimal

The cast and setting are ethnically homogeneous, reflecting the social constraints of 1920s France. There is no evidence of diverse ethnic representation.

How does La Roue represent religion and culture?

Fair

The narrative explores moral relativism and fatalism rather than prescriptive morality. It focuses on the psychological impact of modernity rather than systemic critiques.

Does La Roue include disability representation?

Minimal

No visible or invisible disabilities are portrayed as central to the characters or the narrative development.

Present on Screen

Challenges era-specific gender clichés by centering the narrative on female emotional ability to act and destructive passion.
Uses innovative cinematic formalism and rhythmic montage to explore complex psychological depths.

Limited or Absent

Lacks multi-layered diversity, featuring an ethnically homogeneous cast consistent with its 1920s French context.
Provides no representation for LGBTQ+ identities or characters with disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Sisif, a railwayman, saves a young girl named Norma orphaned by a train crash and raises her as his own daughter alongside his son, Elie. As she becomes an adult, Sisif grapples with whether to tell Norma the truth about her parentage.

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