Fahrenheit 451
François Truffaut | 1966 | United Kingdom | 112’
About the film
In a world where happiness depends on obedience, books are banned – especially novels, which spark doubt and dissent. They must be burned. In this dystopian and layered film we follow Montag, a so-called ‘fireman’, in a sleekly designed post-war society. His task is to track down and burn books. Montag’s wife, Linda, sits in their tastefully decorated home watching television and occasionally taking a pill. A chance encounter with a fellow commuter sparks Montag’s curiosity. What is actually in those forbidden books? Based on Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451 was written in response to the McCarthy-era persecution of political dissent. The result is a layered and disturbingly relevant vision of censorship, passivity and resistance.
