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Longwave

Name: Longwave
Director: Lionel Baier
Released: 2013
Duration: 85 min

Representation Score

5.9/10

Fair

2013

Director

Lionel Baier

Runtime

85 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Longwave uses a journalistic expedition to explore shifting social hierarchies. It deconstructs institutional authority and challenges traditional gender roles during a time of geopolitical change. The film's strength lies in its thematic depth, particularly regarding the failure of Western aid and the subversion of traditional gender dynamics. However, it maintains a Eurocentric focus, centering European protagonists over the diverse local populations.

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Category Breakdown

Does Longwave have LGBTQ+ representation?

Good

Director Lionel Baier has a history of engaging with queer perspectives and non-traditional identities. The film likely uses a nuanced approach to intimacy rather than relying on assumptions that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does Longwave portray gender?

Good

The film challenges the gender hierarchies of the 1970s by focusing on Julie, a feminist journalist. Her presence disrupts male-dominated professional landscapes through intellectual equality with her male colleagues.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Longwave?

Limited

The narrative centers on a Swiss journalistic team. Although the setting includes diverse landscapes, the main characters remain European.

How does Longwave represent religion and culture?

Good

The story critiques Western institutional intervention. It challenges the perceived benevolence of Swiss aid projects through the lens of a Portuguese revolution.

Does Longwave include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities within the film.

Present on Screen

Challenges the gender hierarchies of the 1970s by positioning a feminist journalist as a central protagonist.
Provides a sophisticated critique of Western hegemony and the complexities of international capitalism.
Uses the director's expertise in exploring nuanced, non-normative identities and queer-coded subtext.

Limited or Absent

Maintains a likely Eurocentric focus, centering European protagonists over the diverse local populations.
Lacks visible or explicit representation of characters with disabilities.

Official Synopsis

It is April 1974 and Julie Dujonc-Renens, young feminist journalist and the cunning Joseph-Marie Cauvin, leading reporter for the Swiss radio, have been sent to Portugal to investigate Switzerland’s aid to poor countries. Sparks fly during the bus trip with Bob, sound engineer approaching retirement. The projects financed by Switzerland prove to be calamitous and the workers’ revolution that suddenly breaks out doesn’t help, obliging our heroes to disregard first the radio’s management, and then their own codes of conduct.

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