Humanité
Overview
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.
Awards:
1999 - Cannes - Jury Prize - Winner
1999 - Cannes - Best Actor - Winner
1999 - Cannes - Best Actress - Winner
Details
- Format: Blu-ray
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 715515231619
- Genre: DRAMA
- Rating: Not Rated
- Release Date: June 2019
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
Bruno Dumont's profound, haunting motion picture is equivalent to a cinematic painting, which combines the bizarre mood of David Lynch's BLUE VELVET with the slow pacing of Robert Bresson's films. The story concerns Pharaon De Winter (Emmanuel Schotte), a gentle, kindhearted police detective living in a small town in Northern France, who is assigned to investigate the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. On his off-hours, he lusts after his neighbor Domino (Severine Caneele), who in turn spends her days sleeping with her insensitive boyfriend Philippe (Philippe Tullier). As the investigation unfolds and Pharaon slowly becomes overwhelmed by the sorrow that fills his body, he struggles to make sense of the world's evil ways.
Dumont spent months searching for real individuals who best embodied the characters he'd envisioned when he wrote the script. Schotte and Caneele's naturalistic performances ring true in a way that adds a heightened reality to the proceedings, especially when combined with the hyper-realistic visual style that Dumont has chosen to employ. By the time the film reaches its climax, the deliberate, seemingly understated build-up has an even greater emotional impact that is at once stunning and breathtaking.
Notes:
Theatrical release: June 14, 2000 (NY).
The film had its world premiere on May 17, 1999, at the Cannes Film Festival.
Director Bruno Dumont admits that he was shocked by the awards the film received at Cannes, especially considering the fierce debates it sparked after its screening.
Stephen Holden of the New York Times, John Anderson of Newsday, Armond White and Godfrey Cheshire of the New York Press, and the Second Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll named L'HUMANITÉ one of the 10 best films of 2000.
Reviews:
"...[The movie] begins with one of the most stunning (and shocking) sequences to be found in a recent film..." - 06/14/2000 New York Times, p.E1-E5
"...Passionate, savagely probing, and exquisitely, powerfully physical..." - 05/01/2000 Film Comment, p.73
"...Ought to be seen, because it's a work of moral and spiritual mystery..." -- Rating: B - 06/23/2000 Entertainment Weekly, p.68
"...It yields rich rewards....It's a haunting, hypnotic film that exerts an escalating grip on the heart and the conscience..." - 07/06/2000 Rolling Stone, p.146
"...Schotte creates a unique characterization. Pharaon is always serious....Absorbing..." - 09/01/1999 Box Office, p.144
"...Dumont brings such breadth and depth to its telling that it emerges a compelling contemplation of the interplay of good an evil, and of sexuality and violence..." - 07/07/2000 Los Angeles Times, p.C4
"...L'HUMANITE has the outer form of a police movie, but much more inside....It asks us to empathize with the man's deepest feelings..." - 06/23/2000 Chicago Sun-Times, p.29
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