Film noir is a movie subgenre that belongs to the main category of police movies, and it is mainly characterized by the specific themes depicted and also by its inherent visual attributes.
Regarding the narrative, film noir mostly deals with criminal drama, in a very direct way, and sometimes even with a cynical approach; the name itself, film noir, which can be translated as “dark movie” indicates from the beginning one of the main characteristics of this subgenre, which is also distinguished by its constant references to crime, brutality and injustice, factors that are constant throughout the narrative. The adjective “dark” can also be applied to the visual characteristics of this type of movie, greatly inspired by German Expressionism. The utilization of the light is of extreme importance in film noir, which commonly shows dark and gloomy scenarios, with points of light used to enhance certain details, in order to accentuate some narrative points or psychological traits of some characters.
This subgenre had its peak during the 1940’s in the United States of America, and a lot of acclaimed movie directors, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang or Otto Preminger have directed movies that are included in the category of film noir.
