Bastards

An alienated man returns to Paris in heavy rainfall in an attempt to mend family affairs in the wake of a suicide and substantial monetary damage. He discovers that human hearts, including his own, are not as repairable as he would prefer. Director Claire Denis displays a mastery of imagery, detail, tension and emotion in a dark story that goes back and forth in time and patiently reveals secrets. The introverted characters of her story attempt to react with confidence and courage to the bleak circumstances, malevolent figures, and fears that hem them in, yet their trust and hope hang on a thread. The film is enthralling, dark and brooding.

In this French film noir, a ship captain leaves his post to get revenge on behalf of his sister whose family has faced recent tragedies.

This film is occasionally confusing but always intriguing thanks to the directing style of Claire Denis. At first, it is difficult to distinguish who's who partly because two characters look alike. There are also times it is hard to understand the motives and actions of the main character.

Still, the intrigue seems to work especially with a plot twist followed by one of those endings that is shocking because one would not have expected the film to end at that point. This is one of the few films that gets away with this device. - dbamateurcritic.

A rambling script that jumps so often from one person to another; one scene to another; one plot structure to another that you're left wondering if this is a story or an exercise in the writers/director being enamored with their cleverness. The inconclusive and illogical, abrupt ending is further proof of the film makers' self-absorption. Excessive use of flash backs and constant, shifting brief moments with each character leaves the viewer caring less about the principal vehicle - the life of a young girl in a prostituting environment. I usually have high regards for French film studios efforts, especially with their crime/thriller movies, but in this case ... Final verdict - who cares!

Hard hitting, beautiful, feminist and intelligent, the film is not an easy watch. The story is not told in a straightforward way and things do not go the way we expect. Tough and torrid, the tale unfolds in many different ways before us and we struggle, as does the main protagonist, to deal with what turns out to be an almost labyrinthine problem - even though we are only really talking about a couple of guys, their women and some girls. So beautifully is this shot that there were occasions where I seemed to miss a plot point, so in awe of the way some 'ordinary' scene was portrayed, and I assume this was intentional, one of the various means by which we become side-tracked here until faced with the awful and final denouement.

'BASTARDS': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Disturbing and confusing French crime drama film from director Claire Denis. It stars Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Julie Bataille, Lola Créton and Michel Subor. It was written by Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau and tells the tale of a sea captain who goes AWOL to investigate his brother-in-law's suicide and protect his sister and niece from an evil businessman. I found the modern day film noir look and style of the movie to be interesting but didn't care at all for it's disjointed storytelling. I had no idea what was going on most of the time and still don't understand much of the film.

Lindon stars as Marco, a sea captain who goes AWOL and returns home to Paris when he learns his brother-in-law committed suicide. His sister Sandra (Bataille) believes a wealthy businessman, named Edouard Laporte (Subor), was responsible for her husband's death. Marco moves into the building of Laporte's mistress, Raphaëlle (Chiara Mastroianni), in order to investigate Laporte and becomes involved with Raphaëlle, who wants to protect her son (from Laporte) at any cost. Marco desperately wants to protect his sister and her teenaged daughter, Justine (Créton), as well.

The film was inspired by current sex ring scandals involving rich men and has received lots of rave reviews for it's director and criticism of capitalism. I like it's commentary on society but it's a tad too dark and disturbing for me to enjoy much. I can still respect movies like this but the way the story is told all out of order is far too confusing for the average viewer (and me). I don't think making your film impossible to follow is a good way to make movies but I did like the look and style of the film and think the director and actors show a lot of talent in it.

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