From a novella written over 100 years ago, director Bruno Bonello and the spectacular actress Léa Seydoux have made a story that’s set in the future–and the past, and that goes its own way, “an intriguing meditation on desire, dreams, and the things that make us who we are–and without which we’re lost”–Daily Beast. The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely “erase” their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). The film is set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, where Louis is a British man who woos Gabrielle away from a cold husband, then the story shifts to early 21st century Los Angeles, where he is a disturbed American bent on delivering “retribution”, before The Beast’s 2044 present. Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates? "Bonello’s not here to tell us that the only thing to fear is fear itself. He’s here to tell us to be afraid–be very afraid. What he delivers is not just a densely packed art movie but the most potent horror picture of the decade so far"–RogerEbert.com.
In English and in French with English subtitles.
