The films of the genius Claire Denis often confuse and irritate American viewers in particular, because my fellow Americans are used to being told a story, not watching an image. In "Bastards" the idea is that too many conventions are dumped out with the scraps. It's difficult to follow something that is deliberately trying to confound your logical mind in order to get you to stop being so logical. Especially if the subject of the exposition is sex, and even more especially if the sex is incestuous--or appears to be, anyway.
Denis deliberately cast female actors who resemble each other as a man's daughter, sister and lover. If you're not paying close attention (and even if you are) the blurring of boundaries is shocking. It will take the determined viewer a while to figure out what's supposed to be going on, especially if said viewer is reading the subtitles. I mean, how great is that? You read those little yellow notes and BOOM. This very weird thing is going on, that's not really weird because it's just an accident of appearances and a misunderstanding based on illusion.
Got it? This manner of playing with your mind is what Claire Denis does in her films. It's not against the law or anything. But when it all starts to pick up speed and you're trying to understand what's happening in a film that refuses to hold your hand and tell you how to feel, you can end up, well, actually feeling something. Scary! Denis is making an comment on an observation. It's about the fact that models in slick magazines all look alike. Women are reduced to a commodity. One can be exchanged for another. What is an individual when a culture has reduced a person to a member of a class that is objectified? Well? The story within one of Denis' films is what is happening inside your head while you watch the movie. It's not on the screen. Like a monkey in a lab, your reactions tell the story and your reactions TO your reactions are the narrative.
Good luck. You'll need it.
Denis deliberately cast female actors who resemble each other as a man's daughter, sister and lover. If you're not paying close attention (and even if you are) the blurring of boundaries is shocking. It will take the determined viewer a while to figure out what's supposed to be going on, especially if said viewer is reading the subtitles. I mean, how great is that? You read those little yellow notes and BOOM. This very weird thing is going on, that's not really weird because it's just an accident of appearances and a misunderstanding based on illusion.
Got it? This manner of playing with your mind is what Claire Denis does in her films. It's not against the law or anything. But when it all starts to pick up speed and you're trying to understand what's happening in a film that refuses to hold your hand and tell you how to feel, you can end up, well, actually feeling something. Scary! Denis is making an comment on an observation. It's about the fact that models in slick magazines all look alike. Women are reduced to a commodity. One can be exchanged for another. What is an individual when a culture has reduced a person to a member of a class that is objectified? Well? The story within one of Denis' films is what is happening inside your head while you watch the movie. It's not on the screen. Like a monkey in a lab, your reactions tell the story and your reactions TO your reactions are the narrative.
Good luck. You'll need it.