Rating: 
Summary: A World Beyond Words
Review: "L'Humanité" is a fine example of a film that takes some time to absorb. This is to say, not just the amount of time it takes to watch the 2 and one-half hour film, but the time required afterwards for contemplation. The style and pacing of Bruno Dumont's film are so striking that the viewer needs some distance to sort out what has been experienced. Most closely resembling that of Michelangelo Antonioni, the style of "L'Humanité" consists of long takes, occasional slow pans and sparse dialogue. As with the great Italian director, characters here seem to live on the surface of some undiscovered emotional realm. They seem to grope constantly, at a loss for words, for something that lies beneath. In an interview, Dumont has said that he wrote the leading role of Pharaon after meeting the actor Emmanuel Schotte. A previous conception of the screenplay was rejected and Dumont fashioned the character upon the first-time actor's real personality. This is a case of an actor really being exactly like the part he plays. In fact, Dumont chose all amateurs to play in this film because he did not want associations made with name actors. This possibly explains the striking truthfulness of the three central performances. Dumont sets up, in this film, a kind of laboratory situation. The viewer is confronted with a seemingly enigmatic main character. At first it may be wondered if a connection should be made between Pharaon and the rape/murder is investigating. There is a connection, but not the most obvious one. We are made, at several points, to experience Pharaon's RESPONSE to the act of this murder: most often an inarticulate scream. Pharaon is chosen as the main focus because of his own history: some time in the past he had, and lost, a wife and child of his own. This combination of facts and events sends Pharaon on a kind of internal odyssey. He is desperate to find some understanding of what has happened. What makes the film so interesting , and so deeply cinematic, is that this understanding cannot be verbal. Pharaon is not a verbal personality. Over and over again, he attempts and gains communication through touch, sometimes in surprising ways. In this important sense he is contrasted with the other characters in the film. His friend Domino only understands communication through touch as well, but her pathway must be sexual. In several scenes, she and her handsome lover Joseph sit or stand in silence, in a gray landscape or a drab cafe. Only in the sex act itself do they seem to achieve real communication. As for Joseph, repressed anger at his mundane existence leads to vitriolic outbursts of violence. All three characters are painfully frustrated in their need to circumvent the word for the act. The feature of Dumont's technique in this film that will stay with most viewers-and that will infuriate many-is its very slow pace. There is a deliberation in this film that is, again, comparable to Antonioni or to Tarkovsky. Yet, there is something new here. At this lugubrious tempo, the viewer is made to experience the world of this small, dull town in its maddeningly quotidian fullness. In sum, "L'Humanité" is a very close observation of humans and their behavior in the world. Through the eyes of Pharaon (a character, by the way, shown to be a descendant of a famous late-19th Century French portrait painter) humanity is observed. And, in the film's final embrace, there comes perhaps not understanding, but compassion.
Rating:
Summary: A World Beyond Words
Review: "L'Humanité" is a fine example of a film that takes some time to absorb. This is to say, not just the amount of time it takes to watch the 2 and one-half hour film, but the time required afterwards for contemplation. The style and pacing of Bruno Dumont's film are so striking that the viewer needs some distance to sort out what has been experienced. Most closely resembling that of Michelangelo Antonioni, the style of "L'Humanité" consists of long takes, occasional slow pans and sparse dialogue. As with the great Italian director, characters here seem to live on the surface of some undiscovered emotional realm. They seem to grope constantly, at a loss for words, for something that lies beneath. In an interview, Dumont has said that he wrote the leading role of Pharaon after meeting the actor Emmanuel Schotte. A previous conception of the screenplay was rejected and Dumont fashioned the character upon the first-time actor's real personality. This is a case of an actor really being exactly like the part he plays. In fact, Dumont chose all amateurs to play in this film because he did not want associations made with name actors. This possibly explains the striking truthfulness of the three central performances. Dumont sets up, in this film, a kind of laboratory situation. The viewer is confronted with a seemingly enigmatic main character. At first it may be wondered if a connection should be made between Pharaon and the rape/murder is investigating. There is a connection, but not the most obvious one. We are made, at several points, to experience Pharaon's RESPONSE to the act of this murder: most often an inarticulate scream. Pharaon is chosen as the main focus because of his own history: some time in the past he had, and lost, a wife and child of his own. This combination of facts and events sends Pharaon on a kind of internal odyssey. He is desperate to find some understanding of what has happened. What makes the film so interesting , and so deeply cinematic, is that this understanding cannot be verbal. Pharaon is not a verbal personality. Over and over again, he attempts and gains communication through touch, sometimes in surprising ways. In this important sense he is contrasted with the other characters in the film. His friend Domino only understands communication through touch as well, but her pathway must be sexual. In several scenes, she and her handsome lover Joseph sit or stand in silence, in a gray landscape or a drab cafe. Only in the sex act itself do they seem to achieve real communication. As for Joseph, repressed anger at his mundane existence leads to vitriolic outbursts of violence. All three characters are painfully frustrated in their need to circumvent the word for the act. The feature of Dumont's technique in this film that will stay with most viewers-and that will infuriate many-is its very slow pace. There is a deliberation in this film that is, again, comparable to Antonioni or to Tarkovsky. Yet, there is something new here. At this lugubrious tempo, the viewer is made to experience the world of this small, dull town in its maddeningly quotidian fullness. In sum, "L'Humanité" is a very close observation of humans and their behavior in the world. Through the eyes of Pharaon (a character, by the way, shown to be a descendant of a famous late-19th Century French portrait painter) humanity is observed. And, in the film's final embrace, there comes perhaps not understanding, but compassion.
Rating: 
Summary: What Hollywood doesn't get...
Review: ...is that movie watchers can be intelligent. This movie made me feel like I was a part of it. I was allowed to mold into the character and script the thoughts. There is not any excess dialogue in this movie and that in itself allows for some serious emotional energy (ala Bleu). The Director did an excellent job in developing character in the simplest of ways.This movie has a high level of mental intensity - and you can feel it!
Rating: 
Summary: French Filmmaking Hits Rock Bottom
Review: According to Amazon, people who purchased this film also bought the movie "L'Ennui." Well, this movie offers "ennui" with a vengeance and an additional purchase might seem redundant. This movie is so poor, it manages to progress from mind-boggling to mind-numbing in record time. The fact that it won two major Cannes "acting" awards says far more about the pretentiousness of the Cannes Film Festival than it does about acting ability. The movie lasts nearly two and a half endless hours, of which an hour and a half could easily have been edited out with no loss to content. The story concerns a police superintendent, Pharaon DeWinter, who is called upon to investigate the rape and murder of an eleven-year-old child. DeWinter, for starters, is unbelievable as a cop. People who investigate violent crimes and child abuse on a daily basis must have the ability to keep their emotions in check or they would be unable to achieve any type of objectivity or progress. Well, DeWinter is sensitive, warm and fuzzy, and completely unsuited for this job. When he's not weeping or hugging someone as his investigation regresses, he spends his off-hours with a female friend, Domino, and her handsome boyfriend Joseph. Early in the film, DeWinter walks in on the two of them having sex. Does he turn around and leave like most people might? 'Course not. He watches the entire performance until the lovers are spent. Observing this voyeurism, Domino, silly woman, thinks DeWinter is attracted to HER! I, being an observer of many dreadful French movies over the years, automatically know whom he REALLY is attracted to. I should mention that in all dialogue scenes between DeWinter and anyone else, especially Domino and her boyfriend, there are obligatory pauses, usually of a minute's duration, between a statement and a response. Of course, the statements are so matter-of-fact, even banal -- dare I say it? -- that they require at least a minute to respond in kind. In fact, I suspect the definition of hell must be this -- to be locked in a room for eternity with these exciting folks. Oh, did I forget to mention that Joseph, the boyfriend, also happens to be a school bus driver, who was off the day of the murder but who normally drives the children home from school using the same route? He even confides -- gosh! -- to DeWinter that he hates kids!!! (Hint, hint....) The raped and murdered girl, by the way, met her untimely end while walking home from the bus drop-off point after school. If you're starting by now to figure out the predictability of this totally predictable story, you win a gold star! As for the sex scenes, they're a soft-X. Whenever Domino is feeling horny, which is frequently, she starts squeezing her crotch. French subtlety at work! Another example -- Joseph offers DeWinter a pair of Domino's panties to sniff. He is positively repulsed! With all that squeezing going on, who could blame him? But he's not repulsed when he catches Joseph urinating against a wall. DeWinter bats his eyes and practically swoons dead away from this riveting experience, one of the movie's bizarre acting highpoints. Then later, when Domino tries to seduce DeWinter by stripping and squeezing her crotch yet some more, he rejects her! What a surprise! Finally, when after 2 1/2 hours, if your eyes haven't glazed over completely, and discover that the murderer is exactly who you thought it was from the first reel, DeWinter reacts by giving the killer a long, slow kiss. Shocked? Not really. Just bewildered that anyone could have been taken in by this rotten waste of time -- yours and everyone else's. The camera work, by the way, is about as exciting as the dialogue, which is to suggest that in comparison, it makes Andy Warhol's work on the Empire State Building seem like "The Terminator" for quick cuts.
Rating:
Summary: I MUST BE MISSING SOMETHING HERE...
Review: After reading several favorable reviews of this film, and hearing numerous folks rave about it locally, I finally located a copy available to rent on dvd and checked it out for myself. After viewing it, I feel like I completely wasted my time and money. I'm sorry -- I generally refrain from writing negative reviews, but this film has inspired me to break my own rules. I have seen many examples of European cinema over the last 30 years that I have enjoyed -- many of them I would consider to be masterpieces of the art form. I didn't find one single redeeming factor present in this work. One review I read raved about the director's use of silences -- in this case I found it totally ineffective. To see a film where silence is truly integrated into the mood and story, effectively, check out Tim Roth's magnificent film THE WAR ZONE. It also manages to treat the subject of child abuse (admittedly in a different situation) much more sensitively and intelligently -- not as here, like a garish photograph seen in a tabloid. The characters are completely unlikable -- with the possible exception of the detective's mother, who seems to regard all of the others with disdain. The sex scenes came across as tawdry and voyeuristic, and as such felt gratuitous. And the plot...? Thirty minutes or so into the film, I had guessed the ending -- I saw it coming with the headlights on. The only challenge I found in this film was sitting through it to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Indulgent Tripe
Review: An abysmally grotesque film, at once boring and horrifying. Can child rape and murder be examined in film - of course - but the question is of appropriate representation. This film fails.
Rating:
Summary: Indulgent Tripe
Review: An abysmally grotesque film, at once boring and horrifying. Can child rape and murder be examined in film - of course - but the question is of appropriate representation. This film fails.
Rating:
Summary: Simply awful
Review: As I recall this movie was quite well received by several serious US reviewers, who can usually be trusted when a movie is of Hollywood origin, but whose opinions are to be treated with great skepticism when it is European or foreign. For some reason they judge such films by a different standard and often hold really dreadful ones up with obsequious awe as masterpieces (usually the ones where nobody knows what the Hell is going on!).
That happened with L'Humanité. My opinion is that it's a piece of pretentious crap with almost no redeeming features. Insufferably long, pointless and boring, it attempts self-resuscitation though several scenes of graphic sex and tries to shock its soporific audience to wakefulness with pointless, clinical display of female genitalia. For the rest, we must sit for hours watching the slow progress of the phlegmatic (literally) Pharon across the dull landscape of Normandy. From the lengthy studies of his dolorous expression, we are perhaps expected to abstract some deep inner meaning - possibly each one of us according to our level of understanding (that old saw!). But I get the impression that nobody on this production team, from Bruno Dumont on down, has much idea of what it means either. This brings to mind a witty interview with Ephriam Kishon on the Modern Artist, where he could have been discussing this sort of film. See http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/kishon.html
Rating:
Summary: I feel like going to the bathroom
Review: Humanite is a film NOT to be missed for sure. Despite being by far the worst movie I have ever seen (and I've seen a lot of losers), Humanite grasps the essence of a typical French culture, and holds on masterfully. The protagonist, Pharon de Winter, and his detective boss accurately portray police as they really are --- slow, apathetic, and ugly? The chilling touch of Pharon's mucus which hangs from his lower lip as he goes on a long bike ride throughout the country shows how the French are able to protray the grittiness of the world, a notable quality. Speaking of grittiness, the gratuitous shots of a severed part of the female anatomy (you know which) heightened the integrity of the French film makers and caused me to lean over the side of my couch to respectively vomit into a pail. Only a film like Humanite could make someone do that . . . that's for absolute sure. And only a film like Humanite could show the trouble one has when choking on an apple. I felt Pharon's pain as he emitted a hideous noise from his esophogus in his attempt to eject a chewed up piece of an apple. I felt it approximately five times. And since I'm speaking of pain, the director's display of Pharon as a lonely, weak, homosexual, and pathetic loser were captured in his attempt to play piano . . . and hum to it at the same time. Yep, there sure isn't a movie like Humanite that has all of that in it. And I guarantee that there's no movie ever made that showed a furious man (Pharon in front of the mayor's building towards the end of the film) appearing as though he just developed a thyroid condition. Yes, sir . . . Humanite has it all. Love, sex, murder, anger, disgusting shots of female anatomy, pointless conversations, bike rides, detectives, trains, cars, scenes of a person choking on an apple, scenes of a person trying his hand at piano, and of course, Pharon de Winter. After watching this movie for the first time, a rather horrible taste of bolus and something else really bad enveloped my mouth and caused me to gag. I then immediately rushed here to write this up. If you haven't seen Humanite yet, you need to . . . it will change you, that's a guarantee.
Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with French cinema?
Review: I must join a disapproving crowd for this one. For a European movie being slow-paced is not unusual and often it contributes to the artistic fabric of the film. I cannot imagine high speed of Bergman or Tarkovsky, etc. But this picture does indeed fail at every point. The only discovery I was able to make at the end that perhaps the point was that Pharaoh was a homosexual. But I could never get rid of the impression that the main hero (Pharaoh) is mentally challenged, or simply put, he is an idiot. But perhaps he loved the killer and that's why he pretended to be so dumb? And he sabotaged the investigation when he got an idea who the killer was? And that's why his disgust with women? And that's why the woman is indeed so ugly? However, the picture is done so deliberately repulsive, and it is unfortunately the case with many new French films. I have a hard time with this dark decadence - to me, it looks like that society is looking for some purpose and can't find it, there is nothing to say anymore, or so it seems. Maybe I am a Rohmer's fan amd something like this is hard to digest...In any case, my conclusion is that this movie is too ugly in every respect to be considered good. Cannes jury must be in crisis if they award prizes to artworks like this.
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