Romain Gavras’s ‘Storm’ explores youth and masculinity in a high school, set to an electronic soundtrack by Gener8tion. In contrast to typical cinematic portrayals of high school life, Gavras presents an unsettling vision of a school consumed by violence—a grim reality for many students in education systems worldwide. His remarkably hypnotic direction is enhanced by star and acclaimed rapper Yung Lean, who plays the distressed ‘head boy,’ and by Damien Jalet’s gripping choreography, whose intense synchronization underscores the short film’s themes.
GFA’s Field Notes
No dialogue—just seven and a half minutes that capture something true about the state of masculinity today: fragile, contested, and not confined to a single definition. In the film's first half, a rigid, aggressive masculinity asserts itself through violence and dominance as boys lay claim to an old, hard-edged idea of what a man should be. Then, without warning, the film shifts into three uninterrupted minutes of choreography. That same aggression softens into something collective and fluid, closer to dance than to fighting. The shift doesn't resolve the tension; it simply holds it. Masculinity today is being challenged from every direction. Some fight to preserve its older, harder definition, while others have yet to move far enough toward something more flexible and open. It shows both forces moving through the same body at once, unresolved. Like a mix of School Ties, Dead Poets Society, and Fight Club, with the hypnotic visual qualities of “Broadway Boogie Woogie.”
Acclaimed choreographer Damien Jalet created the breathtaking, synchronized group performance. Drawing on ritual, ancient myth, and anatomy, he uses hive-like formations and camouflage-like movements to push the limits of the human body while evoking profound emotion. The work explores artistic themes of repetition and mass consumerism, particularly in industrialized education.
Other videos from Gavras also depict dystopian scenes and “armies” of youth, sometimes highlighting a single leader, an individual. This holds great tension in the videos.
STORM
GENER8ION + M.I.A. - The New International Sound Pt. II
Highly recommended: “Anima,” a collaboration of Damien Jalet and Thom Yorke. A “one-reeler” musical film entirely choreographed by Damien Jalet and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Thom Yorke.
