La vie de Jésus
France,
1997, 92 min
Shown in 1998
CREDITS
- dir
-
Bruno Dumont
- prod
-
Jean Bréhat, Rachid Bouchareb
- scr
-
Bruno Dumont
- cam
-
Philippe Van Leeuw
- editor
-
Guy Lecorne, Yves Deschamps
- cast
-
David Douche, Marjorie Cottreel, Geneviève Cottreel, Kader Chaatouf, Sébastien Delbaere, Sébastien Bailleul, Samuel Boidin, Steve Smagghe
- source
-
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OTHER
Any quaint images one might have of life in a country village in northern France should be quickly dispelled by the grim realities of Bruno Dumont’s bleak Bailleul and its aimless young denizens. Dumont’s stunning directorial debut focuses on Freddy, an unemployed 20-year-old quasi-skinhead who suffers from epilepsy—and a profound anomie. The only highlight of his life is his girlfriend Marie and their frequent episodes of raw, loveless sex. He and his deadbeat friends spend most of their time roaming the stark countryside on souped-up motor scooters. They are bored and they are frustrated and they are angry. Unflinching closeups scrape to the bone of these emotions with a precision and intensity that evoke our sympathies. Of course, their pent-up rage soon finds a target—in Kadar, the teenage son of Arab immigrants, who has made the mistake of being interested in Marie. Winner of France’s prestigious Prix Jean Vigo for best first feature, The Life of Jesus is a remarkable representation of a segment of society with little opportunity and much despair—a prime breeding ground for hatred, racism and violence. A local cast of nonprofessionals brings a haunting power to the inevitable tragedies and the helpless, inarticulate desperation that sets them in motion. It’s a world of unrelenting misery, made eloquent and beat-poetic in its study of light and the texture of flesh.
FACTOID #7
Governor Pat Brown welcomed the crowd at Opening Night of the Festival October 30, 1963. Other attendees included George Peppard, Willie Mays and the governor’s wife Bernice; it also happened to be the couple’s 33rd wedding anniversary.
