Bastards (Claire Denis)

[Boner M]

IMDb

[Boner M]

Masterful filmmaking. I've seen some try and reduce it to 'arthouse Taken' but that only just highlights how effectively Denis transfigures the potboiler elements at the film's core. More plotty/puzzly than usual, but it doesn't lose a sense of mystery even after the pieces fall into place. Definitely gonna watch this a few more times, icky and uneasy though it often is (could feel the audience collectively cringe during the coda). Hurts so good.

[Stay Puft]

So that's what it feels like to have your soul body-slammed into an abyss. Thanks, Claire Denis.

Sweet corn, anyone?

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No lie, the woman sitting next to me dry heaved when the corn cob entered the frame during the final scene. I was right there with her. First question in the Q&A: Did you ever consider not including that footage in the film. Denis: No. There's a scene earlier where you see there was a cable for a camera, so for the audience to know that and then not see the footage, that just wouldn't be fair. LOL.

]

[Derek]

Even better the second time, as is the case pretty much every time with Denis. Does anyone have a more naturally evil-looking face than Michel Subor?

Reviewed it here.

[Boner M]

Does anyone have a more naturally evil-looking face than Michel Subor?

He looked like a decomposed jack-o-lantern here.

[Derek]

He looked like a decomposed jack-o-lantern here.

:lol:

And holy shit, I forgot that was him in Godard's Le Petit Soldat. Goddamn, French people age like shit.

[baby doll]

So is it just me or do European directors (Denis, Carax, Haneke) really suck at shooting movies on video? It's like they expect it to be as forgiving in low lighting conditions as celluloid.

[Izzy Black]

Huh?

This film was gorgeous. The way the RED camera at night manages so much clarity but yet she was still able to keep everything so dark with that lovely amber tone was incredible, which is typically a challenge with digital. Visually, that first sequence was one of my favorite scenes this year. This was tied for the best shot film of the year for me.