The young Mahler 19 left the political academy and entered the French Academy of Film Studies to study and study film, but two years later he was dissatisfied with school education and left school. He followed Jacques-Yves Cousteau to co-produce the underwater documentary "The Silent World" , As a submarine photographer, editor and assistant director. Afterwards, Mahler began independently filming his debut feature film "The Elevator to the Gallows", which was a precursor of the French "New Wave" and won the Louis De Luc Prize for innovation.
"The Elevator to the Gallows" is Louis Mahler's first attempt at a genre film. Some people think that this film is an imitation of the styles of major directors, especially the young Mahler’s admiration for Bresson and the adoration of Hitchcock are so sincere, you can see Hitchcock’s The suspense style and the shadow of "Country Priest's Diary" during the monologue of the heroine, although Hitchcock's superb suspense technique appeared awkward and blunt in the 25-year-old Mahler's debut, but it still has unexpected effects, and the film itself conveys The absurdity and critical color.
The film emphasizes the black factor in the video. For example, Julian is trapped in a power failure elevator, his body is dim, only his face is occasionally reflected by the dim light of a lighter; Florence is on the streets of Paris at night Wandering, the neon lights flickered to bring out her panic and anxiety, using a strong black and white contrast style. The cold black tone of the film as a whole has a very strong and obvious taste of film noir. The shadow of Hitchcock, which feels obvious in the suspenseful story, has entered a highly tense link at the beginning, but the characters are handled calmly and calmly. The protagonist wandering on the streets of Paris and his inner monologue brought some simple romantic poetry from French literary and artistic films. It is no wonder that George Sadour called Mahler a "film poet". The film tells about two homicides overnight, one with premeditated, one occasional, and the connection between the two is two accidents. Some absurd things have been experienced in the middle, but the two lovers have no good results in the end. . As a suspense film, in fact, the truth is presented to us from the beginning of the film. At the beginning, the director used the brief and clear dialogue between him and the boss to show that the cause of the murder was love murder. This is no longer suspense. The audience brought this The known suspense looks at the next development, which is like the "secrets are not really important, but the process of finding the secrets" seen in the Hitchcock film. The film process also explains this very well. At the same time, Mahler used a pair of down-and-out young lovers to show people's sensitivity to new things in the new era of post-war France and the contradictions between social figures and classes. The cars and cameras of the upper-class figures were new but fearful to Louis. Later, the facts were also true. It shows that they are ruined in new things, and even the heroes and heroines have the same fate in the end. Combined with Mahler's life movies, these aspects are critical to the bourgeoisie. From other films of Louis Mahler, such as "Goodbye, Children", "Lacombe Lucien" and a series of documentaries, you can see Mahler's preference for politics, who was born as a capitalist but likes to question and challenge. The existing mode of thinking and values of the bourgeoisie. But he has not made a "political film" or "combat film" specifically. The political theme he put into is also to "reveal the blindness and contradiction of people in a certain environment, as well as the complexity of the historical political background itself." And ambiguity, not about expressing political positions or simplifying historical facts.”
Mahler also likes to inject a preference for jazz into his various themes, and even the themes of some films come directly from this hobby. The jazz in "The Elevator to the Gallows" creates a modern and indifferent Paris. The jazz music that has always been praised in this film is also considered to be the most classic non-American jazz film soundtrack. The jazz music of Miles Davis is used as the soundtrack to bring out the complex psychological changes of the protagonist, especially the heroine. When walking alone in Paris, the soundtrack perfectly reflects the psychological state. Paris, which is perilous, is more often shown in alienated and indifferent music.
Louis Mahler's style is difficult to classify, he has his own diverse and unique film style. This film is only the first independent film directed by Mahler at 25. He has been working hard as a film creator, free and contented.
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