L'Humanite (1999)

Average rating

(58%)

Starring:	Schotte. Emmanuel \| Severine Caneele \| Philippe Tullier
Director:	Bruno Dumont
Studio:	ARTIFICIAL EYE
Run time:	143 mins
Genres:	Drama \| World Cinema
Languages:	French
Subtitles:	English
Released:	May 22, 2006
Also available on:

The story of a simple, kindhearted police detective in a small town in Northern France, Bruno Dumont's controversial film is a stunning work of art. Pharaon De Winter (Emmanuel Schotte), a police detective, is overcome with such an extreme sense of good that it overwhelms him at times. He spends his days struggling to come to terms with the world's wicked ways, and also attempts to contain his desire for Domino (Severine Caneele), his neighbor, whose boyfriend Philippe (Philippe Tullier) is crude and inconsiderate. This is a powerful, challenging film that will most certainly remain in the viewer's mind long after the final credits have rolled.

Highest rated reviews

9 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5 stars
A masterpiece of Modern Cinema

Emmy from London, 7th July, 2006

Not to all tastes but definately worth perservering with, particularly if you enjoy the work of Robert Bresson. A police chief in a small town in Northern France is attempting to solve the brutal murder of a young girl whilst struggling to cope with his own, ambiguous feelings towards his best-friend's girlfriend. Extreme long shots, with a barely explained narrative and an enigmatic last shot (watch very carefully at the end for any attempt at a solution)make for a slow, hypnotic piece of art. There are no answers provided and the viewer is left to interpret as they wish but this is still one of my favourite foreign films of the last 10 years. I am not a major fan of Dumont's work and have found more recent features a little pretentious for my own tastes, but this is one of his finest hours and fully deserving of the Jury Prize at Cannes

Read all highest rated reviews

Most recent reviews

Rated 2 stars
Customer Review

A Customer from UK, 23rd June, 2008

There are several problems with this film as far as I am concerned. The first is its grinding slowness. We see a man walking across a field, and he walks and walks. I felt a whole mile had been filmed in its entirety. Later, we see the same man cycling, with much amplified laboured breathing, along the lanes near his home. Then we see him turn round and cycle all the way back. There is less heavy breathing this time as it is mostly downhill. This man lives with his mother, to whom he speaks very little. We see him in bed doing not very much and we see him on his allotment, and watch him hoeing - for a long time. He has a persistent look of surprise, probably because of his saucer-like eyes.

The film starts with our hero walking the fields and the naked body of a young woman is discovered. We don't see an outstretched hand poking out from a shallow grave, or a single staring eye, but a full view of her genitals. It is a shocking moment. This is forgotten for the time being and we see the scenes of our man as I have described. We meet his young lady friend and neighbour, Domino, and her priapic boyfriend. They take our man everywhere they go - to dinner, to the seaside - in between scenes of copulation executed with an almost unbelievable lack of eroticism.

You try to make out who our man is. Is he a bit dim? Has he got Aspberger's syndrome? Is he unemployable and so has to busy himself on his lottery? No is the answer to all these - he is a Superintendent in the police! And he is investigating this murder. There are no police swarming over the fields, no press. The town is oblivious. I did spot the superintendent asking a question of some potential witnesses but if he was working his socks off for eight hours a day on the murder inquiry, it wasn't shown.

The characters in the film had some interest, if only in their blankness and lack of personality. There was barely any conversation and exchanges were mainly of a utilitarian nature - when to meet, where to go. There was no humour, few opinions. You wouldn't want to spend ten minutes with them. Perhaps the director has a jaundiced view of "humanity". His depiction of the sex act, though not inaccurate, seems to be saying, look how ridiculous it is when seen by a detached observer. These scenes, too, go on forever, without the slightest variation. Being made to wait an eternity for the next soul-destroying human exchange makes the whole thing intolerable and stretches the film to over two hours. The only thing that keeps you watching is the expectation that things just have to get better. But they don't.

Read all recent reviews

Rated 4 stars
Customer Review

A Customer from UK, 23rd June, 2008

"L'Humanite" is a poignant character portrait of a small town French cop who is endeavouring to uncover the mystery behind the violent rape and death of an 11 year old schoolgirl. Although I guessed the culprits identity about halfway through the film, there is much to admire about this film. The two main characters, Pharaon the cop and his neighbour Domino, an odd couple if ever there was one , are acted superbly by Emmanuel Schotte and Severine Caneele.Pharaon's gentle ,quasi-traumatised, slow moving cop contrasts well with Domino's lascivious, feisty factory worker. The film is very slow moving and the plot is fairly slight , but "L'Humanite" maintains the viewer's interest throughout. Why ? Because the viewer cares about the characters and identifies with their struggles and emotional problems. We share in their humanity.

Read all recent reviews

Check out...

Subscribers who liked this DVD also liked...

Whisky

Springtime In A Small Town

Carlos Saura -Tango