The Beast

La bête

Director: Bertrand Bonello
Country: France

2023 | 145 min. | French, English
Subtitles: German, English
FSK 12

Cast_ Léa Seydoux, George MacKay, Guslagie Malanda, Dasha Nekrasova, Martin Scali Screenplay_ Bertrand Bonello Camera_ Josée Deshaies Producer_ Justin Taurand, Bertrand Bonello Rights_ Grandfilm

In the future, emotions are considered chaotic, painful and superfluous. But aren’t they precisely what makes us human?

By the year 2044, because people with emotions are considered unproductive, AI has taken over almost all professions. Like many others, Gabrielle (an impressive Léa Seydoux) therefore undergoes a procedure to purge her DNA of emotions. The necessary sessions confront her with memories of her former lives in 1910 and 2014. In each, her fate is intertwined with that of Louis. They are both in search for love and fearing an impending catastrophe.

Adapting a short story by Henry James, Bertrand Bonello shows us that a fulfilled human life necessarily involves taking risks.

Director

Bertrand Bonello (*1968) is a French director, screenwriter, composer, and actor whose films have received awards at numerous international festivals. His provocative, visually sumptuous works, which skillfully blend different genres, include ›The Pornographer‹ (2001), ›House of Tolerance‹ (2011) and ›Nocturama‹ (2016).

Screenings