Bastards

MOVIE #1,302 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 12.29.23 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝙻𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙸𝚂 (𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑: [𝚍ə𝚗𝚒];) 𝙳𝙸𝚁𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙾𝚁 𝙵𝙾𝙲𝚄𝚂 Claire Denis seems to operate in one of two modes (and yes, this generalization is a mile wide): the narrative is either oblique or there's so much plot you'll be pulling your hair out trying to unlock the puzzle box. Bastards, one of her best films to date, falls into the latter category, but despite its many moving pieces, it's never hard to follow and still maintains a dreamlike quality throughout. She always begins her movie in a really interesting way. The quick shot of night in White Material and a kind of abstract rendering of the rain here. Perhaps, despite the often stark ‘realness’ of her films, this is a way to let you know, almost subliminally, that this fiction, this is made-up. That this is Art.

Denis’s pictures always leave me scratching my head to a degree, and this has come with varied results ranging from frustrated to delighted. Even though it isn’t my default position by any means, I find myself drawn to her films which lean into the narrative side of things more plainly and simply (or at least provide more context and structure). I’m not sure why this is. This might be her most straightforward effort yet and it really resonated with me on an immediate level, even if its myriad themes — from the idea of being contaminated through family bloodlines, to the concept of family dynamics providing a breeding ground for exploitation and neglect (nature vs. nurture? it's right there in the title)— are kind of complicated/abstract.

It’s not always the case, but I think I appreciate her body of work more than I do any of her individual films, if that makes sense. She’s a true auteur and this journey has been an exciting and enlightening one.

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Bastards (French: Les Salauds) is a 2013 thriller film directed by Claire Denis. It stars Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It was released on May 21, 2013 .