L'humanité

Although it has a predictable ending, the story has more strength when it focuses on the impossibility of enjoying life due to trauma. The protagonist is being trapped in his deep sensitivity, unable to face the reality that is violent and cruel.

Starts off fantastic by mysteriously looking into the souls of the lonely, bored, and sexually stoic. After forty minutes, it begins to deteriorate bit by bit as it focuses more on story rather that characters and ends up with a really predictable and pedestrian conclusion.

Contrary to its title, this is a film which contemplates the lack of one's humanity, be it through its loss as a result of trauma, or its non-existence to begin with. How does one deal with a life that is only filled with pain? Can one restart, or escape the hand he's been dealt? Is it too late to hope for a more loving world, or has our contemporary society reached its zenith? The struggle between hope and nihilism creates a bleak, yet thoughtful film, here.

This is the type of movie that gets a mid-rating from me because it's so incomplete that the viewer could interpret as it a masterpiece or as a piece of crap and be equally convincing in his argument.

Eugene Levy goes magical retard in France. Also, being human is tricky business but at least I caught the allusion to Courbet's "Origin of the World" which made me feel smart.

Not my cup of tea. Another "film with potential" that just ends up dragging too much.

con esta me viro pa letterboxd, joya

Bleak, interesting, and occasionally surreal. For me, the final scene put everything else in its place.

That gem of a film won no less than three prizes in Cannes that year, under the presidency of David Cronenberg and got pretty close to tie Rosetta's Palme d'or.

Atanamamış Bresson.

Explores the relation between: (1) the human desire to touch and join together with others; and (2) the human propensity for sexual violence (via Duchamp and Courbet). Dumont's films, more than those of any other filmmaker I can name, seem to continue acting on the viewer long afterwards, to induce reflection such that they gain in power and stature after the fact. This mysterious and impressive quality, and the way his oeuvre seems to have a cumulative force, makes them difficult to score.

A challenging film contemplating man in nature, and the nature of man. Small town life in northern France is exquisitely evoked without an iota of romanticism. An extremely slow pace with many long lingering shots of the most banal (and some shocking) details; very little action or dialogue, all forces us to think about what is going on in the characters' heads. For all its bleak view, there are some surprisingly compassionate moments of contact between them.

"I've never seen a Gaspar Noe film either and having read about them I'm not sure I want to." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/08/episode-25-bruno-dumont-and-new-french.html

Meanderingly pensive, and if it was anything but (very) French I would deem it bizarre. I don't feel like the fundamental insights that Dumont wants to convey ever fully take shape, because of the ambiguities arising from his excessive restraint. The ideas flicker through the murky mist of the film, though; and the unnaturally opaque characters do keep it interesting to watch despite the length.

Interesting but so, so slow. There are some interesting ideas here, and the performance from a perfectly cast Schotte is a good one. The ending is predictable, though not really totally earned. I think the work with the characters is more interesting than the plot, but I could have done with a BIT more plot.