Un beau soleil intérieur (Let the Sunshine in) (2017)

Director: Claire Denis
Writers: Claire Denis, Christine Agnot
DOP: Agnès Godard
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine
Language: French

Isabelle, a Parisian artist, divorced mother, is looking for love, true love at last.

It is the least Claire Denis film that I have watched of hers. She has never worked with Juliette Binoche before and you get the feeling that she is having fun with what you can call Binoche kind of films with this. It is an adaptation of Roland Barthes' 1977 text 'A lover's discourse: Fragments'. The takes are super long and camera dances between characters who are conversing, especially in that first one at the bar. Isabelle is middle aged and quite desperate to find the true love after divorcing the father of her daughter. She also come off as quite naive. Gerard Depardieu makes a cameo at the end as a heartbroken psychic who Isabelle consults instead of a therapist. It is probably Claire Denis making a point that there is no point at all.

It is a pretty good watch without being all that great. Claire Denis' next release is an English language science fiction film set in space. Can't wait!

Rating: 3.5/5

Beau Travail (1999)

Director: Claire Denis
Writer:    Claire Denis
Cinematographer: Agnes Godard
Cast: Denis Lavant, Michael Subor
Language: French

The film focuses on an ex-foreign legion (Denis Lavant) officer as he recalls his once glorious life, leading troops in Africa.

You can't do much wrong if you start your film with a club scene set to 'Kiss Kiss' song from Tarkan. The film has a meditative quality to it as we are shown various routines that the legion goes through in their non-combat days. First half of the film will work very well as an advertisement for recruitment. The character played by Denis Lavant is like the second in command with a father fixation for his own reporting officer. It could be sexual as well but it is not explicitly mentioned. In the beginning of the film, he mentions that 'Freedom begins with remorse'. The remorse that he is noting here is concerning his actions when he had a young man whom he thought of as a competition for him in terms of his superior officer's attention/affection.

It is an adaptation of Herman Melville's 1888 novella Billy Budd. It also reminded me of William Friedkin's 'Cruising' which also had a very confused protagonist. It is a great watch and has got a super great soundtrack. Claire Denis is a very interesting director and the films that I've watched of her's has a unique quality to them while each of them being very different in terms of settings.

Rating: 4.5/5

White Material (2009)

Director: Claire Denis
Writers:  Claire Denis, Marie N'Diaye
Cast:       Isabella Huppert, Christopher Lambert, Issach De Bankole
Language:French

A white family which owns a coffee plantation in an unnamed post-colonial African country finds themselves in the midst of a civil war. The husband is trying to get his family out of the country whilst the wife (Isabella Huppert) is worried about the unharvested coffee beans.

If you read the synopsis you kind of expect a predictable film along either of the following lines: 1) Africans cannot run things without their white masters and it is really a case of white man's burden 2) White people in the film is caught up in the violence with the rebels justified in the actions against the post colonial ruling elite. Since Claire Denis is behind the film it does not fall in either of these categories. It doesn't have a big message. All the three sets: White Family (Referred to as White Material in the film), the rebels and the ruling elite militia are kind of neutral in the sense that all of them are equally despicable. 

Isabelle Huppert's character is running the plantation and that is the only life she wants. She refuses to see the warning signs willingly. It was funny to see Roger Ebert in his review describe her as a courageous fighter whilst throughout the film I was wondering how incredibly naive she was. One will be reminded of the hippies, anti-capitalists, humanitarians who naively think that people left to their own devices are capable of living in a communal way with equality for all. The only character for whom I felt some degree of sympathy was the husband played by Christoper Lambert. 

It is a great watch but might not be suitable for everyone. If you are expecting something conventional where you are told whom to sympathize for, then its not for you. For the very reasons that I like this film, some people will hate it.

Rating: 4/5

Les salauds (Bastards) (2013)

Director: Claire Denis
Writers:  Jean-Pol Fargeau, Claire Denis
Cast:       Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Julie Bataille
Language:French

Marco returns to Paris after his brother-in-law's suicide, where he targets the man his sister believes caused the tragedy- though he is ill prepared for her secrets as they quickly muddy the waters.

I haven't seen any Claire Denis films prior to watching this and from what I have read, this film also has her characteristic style in the sense that she won't spell it out for the audience what the character's are feeling and expositions are minimal. So we are to figure it all out by paying attention and watching closely even the gestures. Film uses flash forwards and most of them come again in the chronological order as the film progresses but some are left hanging, like the kid's bicycle getting found in the woods by the Police.

It is a very atmospheric film with original soundtrack and unlikeable characters. It was screened at the Cannes in the 'Uncertain Category' which I think is a good criterion to get your hands on films that are unconventional. It is a good one time watch and I will be certainly seeking out other Claire Denis films.

Rating: 3.5/5