``Diva'' Jean-Jacques Benex's feature debut, which created a new wave in the French film industry.

A maniacal commitment to items that reflects subculture trends

``Diva'' also had a major factor in easily accepting such a seemingly mixed image. Isn't it the impressive "items" and unique "characters" that fill the entire story?

For most people who have watched ``Diva,'' the thing that sticks out in their memories is the apartment of a man named Gorodish who helps the main character, Jules. Gorodish is a mysterious Greek man who dreams of "stopping the waves" and uses French bread to solve Zen ideas. His room is very spacious, with a bathtub and washstand placed abruptly, and is reminiscent of the lofts that artists liked to live in in New York in the 1980s.

Alba, a Vietnamese girl who lives with them, moves around on roller skates, and Gorodish's daily routine is to work on giant jigsaw puzzles. There is also a mysterious device called the "Wave Machine" that creates waves.

"Diva" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

In addition, there is a Mobilette (moped bicycle) that the postman Jules rides, a Citroën Traxion Avant 11CV that Gorodish owns two of, and a Swiss NAGRA bike that Jules uses to secretly record. There are many items that tickle the enthusiast's mind, such as high-fidelity recording and playback equipment.

If you think about it, the word subculture became widely popular in the 1980s. A maniac's predilection for "things" is an important part of the subculture, and I feel that 1981's ``Diva'' was an early film that reflected this boom.

Moreover, the ``yellow'' of the mobileette, the ``red'' of the motorcycle that Jules borrows, the ``white'' of the Citroen and Cynthia Hawkins' dress that Jules steals, the ``blue'' of Goldish's apartment, and the ``pink'' of Alba's raincoat. The colors of individual items are overemphasized, making their presence stand out.

The beauty is also extraordinary, such as the blue image of Jules and Cynthia's silhouettes floating over the Arc de Triomphe. This commitment to color became even more prominent in Jean-Jacques Benex's subsequent works `` The Moon in the Ditch '' (1983) and `` Betty Blue' ' (1986).

Rich characters predict current diversity