Movie Recommendation: Ceremony (La Cérémonie, 1995)

Chabrol said for the film:  “I made the last Marxist movie.” We see many Marxist and Althusserian images in the film, which have a symbolic expressions. Marx argued that those who own the production apparatuses also manage the ideological apparatuses. In other words, he stated that the bourgeoisie also possesses ideological apparatuses. Althusser thinks that the state has unity under the ideology of the ruling class, no matter how diverse its ideological apparatuses are. Althusser stated the following as ideological devices: religion, education, family, law, political system, trade union, communication (press, radio-television), and culture. As a matter of fact, in the movie Ceremony, we can see the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, about the management of ideological devices as well as economic factors.

In the film, we see a bourgeois family who, besides being rich, watches opera, listens to classical music, has many books in the library, and reads and writes. In contrast, Sophie and Jeanne have poor (enough to pick mushrooms and cook them because there is nothing to eat), a culturally undeveloped profile that only watches television programs, and have committed crimes in the past. Sophie cannot read or write because she has dyslexia. It is also far behind in education. This is why Sophie fired at the library after killing all the members of the family along with Jeanne. The family has been a problematic formation for both women in the past. Jeanne killed her daughter and Sophie killed her father and somehow escaped punishment. Yet we see how all members of the bourgeois family have a loving relationship with one another and how kindly they even treat their servants. On the contrary, Jeanne & Sophie has a rude, disrespectful, and impulsive style. The relationship between the two women with religion is equally interesting. Both of them are not very religious people. If they were strong, the idea of ​​killing someone in cold blood, without blinking an eye, would probably not be very likely for them. After killing the family, Jeanne's getting into her car and being hit by a priest's car and causing her death is a reference to religion, which is one of the ideological devices in this context.

One of the main criticisms of the film is that people are better off giving their shabby things for help while they are working in the church's fundraising campaign. The film criticizes the bourgeoisie's attempt to help the proletariat sinfully. Because, first of all, Marxism argues that no one will need help and that they should have equal economic conditions.

The use of light in the ceremony film is close to reality. In the use of color, neither too vivid nor too pale a palette (mid tones) was preferred. A single yellow color is used in a very remarkable way. We see that the yellow color is very prominent, especially in kitchen tools. Yellow is an uplifting color that offers happiness, joy, and fun. That's why it's a color choice that complements the happy mood of the family in the movie.

The ceremony is one of the films that should not be missed by those who love symbolic expression.