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The Beast.She was there on harder terms than any one; she was there as a consequence of things suffered, one way and another, in the interval of years, and she remembered him very much as she was remembered—only a good deal better.So says John Marcher of May Bartram in Henry James’s novella The Beast in the Jungle (1903). Everything coalesces for John and May to reconnect on an October afternoon, having met years prior. Their meeting again is “the sequel of something of which he had lost at the beginning.” What follows is a strained dalliance, never physically realized. John is transfixed by May’s knowledge of his “secret,” the feeling of an imminent doom that has tailed him his entire life. Something awaits him, like a beast in the jungle. And May—only May, whose illness brings her closer and closer to her own death—knows what it is.

The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 10 cinema figures who will participate in its In Conversation With program at its 20th edition running from November 24 to December 2.

They comprise Australian actor Simon Baker, French director Bertrand Bonello, U.S. actor Willem Dafoe, Indian filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap; Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Danish-u.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen; U.K. actor Tilda Swinton; and Russian director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev.

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, who will receive the festival’s honorary Étoile d’or prize this year, will also participate in the program.

Baker’s was seen most recently in Toronto title Limbo and Tribeca 2022 selection Blaze, with early features including L.A. Confidential (1997), David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011), followed by hit series The Mentalist (2008–2015).

Bensaïdi’s first feature A Thousand Months world premiered...

The filmmaker has cast Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel; the next film by Sophie Letourneur and the feature debut by Emmanuelle Nicot will also be co-produced by the French-German channel. Arte France Cinéma’s (headed up by Olivier Père) first selection committee of 2021 has chosen to get involved in three projects as a co-producer and pre-purchaser. Standing out among them is La bête by Bertrand Bonello, which will be the eighth feature by the filmmaker, following The Pornographer (Cannes Critics’ Week in 2001), On War (Directors’ Fortnight 2008), Tiresia (in competition at Cannes in 2003), House of Tolerance (in competition at Cannes in 2011), Saint Laurent (in competition at Cannes in 2014), Nocturama (in competition at Toronto and at San Sebastian in 2016) and Zombi Child (Directors’ Fortnight 2019). Staged by Les Films du Bélier, La bête will boast a cast including Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel, and will tell...

Bertrand Bonello's Zombi Child is having its exclusive online premiere on Mubi in the United Kingdom. It is showing from October 18 - November 17, 2019.Zombi ChildIt’s never unusual for someone to end a conversation and begin dancing in the cinema of Bertrand Bonello. His fealty is to rhythm, to fabric, to swagger, to the perfect song, to what’s cool—and there is nothing cooler than the best Bonello films. He has turned insouciance into a bedrock style; his sense of the aesthetically voluptuous is ironclad and whatever point he’s in the mood to make will have to pass through the aura of manicured diffidence. This has made him a polarizing figure in critical circles. Is he charlatan or genius? Why not both? Investing so much of his gifts as a visual storyteller to reveling in what’s fashionable may give the impression of a shallow mind at work,...

Zombi Child

Art-house auteur Bertrand Bonello returns with what’s described as a mix between ‘ethnology and fantasy’ for his eighth feature, Zombi Child. Following the controversial and eventually muted release of his formidable 2016 title Nocturama (check out our interview), which provides the perspectives of a group of Parisian youths following a bomb attack in the city, Bonello’s latest has been co-produced and pre-purchased through Arte France Cinema. After winning the Fipresci Prize in Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2001 for his sophomore feature The Pornographer, Bonello became a fixture at the Croisette, premiering in competition with Tiresia (2003), House of Tolerance (2011), and Saint Laurent (2014), while his 2008 On War went to Directors’ Fortnight.…...

Saint Laurent director Bertrand Bonello will head up this year’s short film and Cinefondation juries.

A Cannes regular, Bonello’s Tiresia was in official competition in 2003, followed by House of Tolerance in 2011 and Saint Laurent in 2014, though 2016’s controversial terrorism film Nocturama premiered in Toronto after Cannes passed on the film.

The Cinefondation selects 15-20 student films each year for its competition. The section was launched in 2000 by past president Gilles Jacob, who still oversees the section.

"This year will be presided by one of the greatest contemporary directors, an iconoclastic and unique artist. And besides his art,...

Nocturama director wants young filmmakers to “shake us up”.

French film director, composer and screenwriter Bertrand Bonello will chair the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury at the 71st Festival de Cannes (8-19 May).

Bonello, who succeeds Cristian Mungiu in the position, has directed seven features and eight short films, including Parisian-set terrorism thriller Nocturama in 2016.

His films Tiresia, House Of Tolerance and Saint Laurent have all screened in Competition at the Festival de Cannes.

Bonello said: “What do we expect from young people, unknown filmmakers and early films? Let them shake us up, let them make us look at what we’re unable to see,...

Paris is Happening

Director: Bertrand Bonello

Writer: Bertrand Bonello

Following the horrific bombings in Paris which occurred in late November, Bertrand Bonello’s latest, Paris is Happening, sounds like risky business, indeed. With a plot concerning youths planting bombs around the City of Lights, the subject matter may hit too close to home for most tastes, though it will also lead to significant anticipation if/when the title is eventually programmed. Bonello has built an impressive filmography, with titles like the Pasolini inspired Tiresia (2003) and 2011’s exquisite House of Pleasure courting equal parts critical praise and derision. He’s yet to score the international attention he deserves, even though his last title was the unauthorized Ysl bio, Saint Laurent (2014).

Cast: Vincent Rottiers, Laure Valentinelli, Jamil McCraven

Production Co.: Pandora Filmproduktion, Rectangle Productions

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic) Wild Bunch (international).

Release Date: Currently in post-production (and with...

Starting with 2011’s House of Pleasures, Bertrand Bonello has been on the verge of some sort of breakthrough, but it’s telling that this is the most obvious starting point — it’s the only one. That was essentially the first project to got any real U.S. distribution, and its appreciation, while fervent, remains hermetic, while the attention paid to this year’s Saint Laurent wasn’t exactly significant. (This, I should stress, is in no way a reflection on their quality.) The very small release being granted to On War some seven-and-a-half years after its debut probably won’t launch him much further, thus all the more reason why it’s a work — familiar in its archetypes, entirely unique in its approach, and difficult to shake after the fact — in need of attention.

I got in touch with its U.S. distributor, Indican Pictures, who put me in touch...

After premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Belgian auteur Fabrice du Welz’s excellent fourth feature Alleluia went on to play in the esteemed Vanguard lineup in the Toronto International Film Festival before nabbing Best Actor and Actress awards at Fantastic Fest for superb performances from Laurent Lucas and Lola Duenas. Although this didn’t translate into notable box office profit for Us distributor Music Box Films (released in mid-July for a limited theatrical run, the title didn’t crack ten grand in its paltry five week run), du Welz’s beautiful cult-classic in the making will eventually secure a greater following. A recent Blu-ray re-release of Criterion Collection’s presentation of the 1969 Leonard Kastle film, The Honeymoon Killers, based on the same romantic killing spree, should funnel some attention to it, as well as du Welz’s break into English language in 2016 with his next title.

In the Mood For Love: Du Welz Returns With Gloriously Dark Rendering of Insatiable Passion

His first film since 2008’s underappreciated Vinyan, Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz debuts the second installment in his proposed Ardennes trilogy, Alleluia. His 2004 directorial debut, Calvaire (aka The Ordeal) depicted a rather hellacious account of a singer whose car breaks down in the middle of the woods, stranding him in the midst of a very strange and terrifying rural community. Here, Du Welz bases his latest madness on the true account of serial killing couple Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, a case that famously inspired the 1969 film The Honeymoon Killers and 1996’s Deep Crimson, amongst others. But Du Welz hardly unveils a simple account of unhinged, obsessive love. His is a demonic hymnal of passion, a darkly droll exercise in the delusory notion of love as an unhealthy obsession told with aggressive flourish. But...

On My Skin: Barraud Explores the Essence of Monstrosity

There are moments within Antoine Barraud’s sophomore feature Portrait of the Artist that tend to feel enlivened with an arresting strangeness. There is the peripherally entertaining notion of provocative body horror shadowing us while we follow a filmmaker creating his latest project, simultaneously losing his grip on reality. But more often than not, the film feels like a thriller version of Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery. Barraud’s French language title, Le Dos Rouge (basically The Red Back) was perhaps too literal of a title, and the allusion to Joyce’s classic text (though this is really more ‘as a middle aged man’) gives it a certain extra textual density since Joyce’s novel is an allusion to Daedalus, the man responsible for constructing the Labyrinth which entombed the deadly Minotaur in Greek Mythology.

Bertrand (Bertrand Bonello) is a filmmaker...

Chicago – L’Apollonide, the Parisian brothel in Bertrand Bonello’s “House of Pleasures,” is one of the most vividly realized movie locations in recent memory. The voyeuristic allure of cinema fuses with the film’s painterly imagery to create a subtly surrealistic dreamscape within the establishment’s claustrophobic walls. The picture is seductive and repellant in about equal measure, but never short of hypnotic.

Though “Pleasures” (alternately titled “House of Tolerance”) is clearly the work of a filmmaker influenced by the “male gaze” represented in everything from Monet artwork to early silents, the film is resoundingly successful in its attempts to view life from the perspectives of the female prostitutes. As the young ladies externalize the kinky fantasies of their clients, Bonello allows the viewer to peer into each woman’s own thoughts and dreams, thus illuminating the strong-willed psyche within the submissive façade.

DVD Rating: 4.5/5.0

Consider the character of...

Updated through 5/18.

"[E]veryone I know absolutely despised Bertrand Bonello's House of Tolerance, set in a Parisian brothel ca. 1899-1900, whereas I found myself rather touched by the film's oddly idealized portrait of a defunct community," writes Mike D'Angelo at the Av Club. "Granted, there are risible moments — you can't make a movie in which a hideously disfigured prostitute cries tears of milky semen without inspiring a lot of wisecracks on Twitter. But Bonello's compassion for these women feels genuine, and I appreciated the deft way that he juxtaposed their various assignations with the practical, menial details of their trade, as well as his pointedly anachronistic use of music…. I make no great claims for House of Tolerance, but the degree of intolerance among my colleagues has me befuddled."

Leslie Felperin in Variety: "Although there's heaps of nudity, disturbing violence, weirdness and a general air of bored erotic lassitude, all...

Naturally the most polarizing film of the Main Competition film so far would come from Bertrand Bonello. L'Apollonide House of Tolerance is his return back into the Main Comp since 2003's Tiresia. For the most part, our critics hated the pic (there is one lonely 4 star rating though!)-- which is about the fall of Paris’s end of century brothel scene. Here's the grid folks -- look for the one person who gave the film.

One of the more prolific and anticipated films playing in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Drive. The filmmaker behind the Pusher trilogy, Bronson and Valhalla Rising is returning to theaters with this actioner, which boasts the impressive cast of Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Christina Hendricks, and Oscar Issac. The clip we saw from it was very impressive, and when you couple that with the track record of the man behind it, expectations are understandably high.

Several new stills from the movie have appeared online, and they alone bring memories of many action thrillers of the 1970′s. In particular, the suit of Gosling‘s character (appropriately named “Driver”) plays a big part in giving off that vibe. You can see them below, thanks to MuseumofCinema, and take a look at the film’s Cannes press kit (found by ThePlaylist) for even more.

There are four French films in the Main Competition at this year's Cannes festival, a number that is generally seen as a set figure from year to year. That number can get a bit hazy when it comes to defining either a filmmaker's nationality or shooting locations or funding support, but we can at least count on four, French-born directors every year. There is no ambiguity with Bertrand Bonello's newest film House of Tolerance (L'Apollonide - souvenirs de la maison close), though, as the film was shot near Paris, and Bonello himself was actually born in Nice, a spitting distance from Cannes' shore. His career has stayed pretty closely tied to the festival since then, too; his last three films (out of five total) have all had their world premieres there, and while his film Tiresia was participating in the 2003 Competition - I kid you not - his first daughter was being born.

I hope you’re ready for our little chat about the movies that are scheduled to premiere In Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. We’re going to continue with the upcoming French drama directed by Bertrand Bonello, and titled L’Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close or simply, House of Tolerance.

Shot near Paris for a two month period, and written by Bonello, the movie goes like this:

“At the dawn of the XXth century, in a brothel in Paris, a man disfigures a prostitute for life. She is marked with a scar that draws a tragic smile on her face.

Around the woman who laughs, the life of other girls, their rivalry, their fears, their joy, their pain…From the external world, nothing is known. Their world is closed.”

Movie stars Adèle Haenel, Hafsia Herzi, Jasmine Trinca, Céline Sallette and Noémie Lvovsky. Les Films du Lendemain’s Kristina Larsen...

Cannes is going to have a stellar Main Comp (Pedro, Ramsey, Lars, Dardenne Bros., Kaurismaki) but there are still plenty of unexpected no-shows this year. Making Venice extremely happy we don't find: Giorgos Lanthimos, Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, Aleksandr Sokurov, Christophe Honoré, Lou Ye, Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Brillante Mendoza. At the top of the list for surprise inclusions we have Camera D'or nominee in Julia Leigh's Sleeping Beauty - (see the Eyes Wide Shut-like trailer here) I was expecting this to be the highlight for the Un Certain Regard section, but I guess this now means her first film is an extremely strong entry from Australia. Despite showing Tiresia in the Main Comp several years ago, I was thinking Bertrand Bonello's L'apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close) (picture above) would be relegated to the Ucr category - which isn't the case. The same can be said about...

Bertrand Bonello’s commenced shooting on his fifth feature film yesterday, pulling in a pool of Euro actresses in Adèle Haenel, Jasmine Trinca, Hafsia Herzi, Noémie Lvovsky and Céline Sallette for what should be one more controversial film add to his filmography which already includes The Pornographer (2001) and Tiresia (2003). - Bertrand Bonello’s commenced shooting on his fifth feature film yesterday, pulling in a pool of Euro actresses in Adèle Haenel, Jasmine Trinca, Hafsia Herzi, Noémie Lvovsky and Céline Sallette for what should be one more controversial film add to his filmography which already includes The Pornographer (2001) and Tiresia (2003). Shooting near Paris for a two month period, written by Bonello, L'apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close) takes place at the dawn of the 20th Century in a Parisian brothel, a prostitute is disfigured for life by a client. Scarred with a tragic smile across her face.

Bertrand Bonello’s commenced shooting on his fifth feature film yesterday, pulling in a pool of Euro actresses in Adèle Haenel, Jasmine Trinca, Hafsia Herzi, Noémie Lvovsky and Céline Sallette for what should be one more controversial film add to his filmography which already includes The Pornographer (2001) and Tiresia (2003). Shooting near Paris for a two month period, written by Bonello, L'apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close) takes place at the dawn of the 20th Century in a Parisian brothel, a prostitute is disfigured for life by a client. Scarred with a tragic smile across her face. Around this "laughing woman" are the lives, rivalries, fears, joys and pains of the other girls.... None knows a thing about the outside world: it is a "closed house". Look for this to be an item of high interest on the Croisette next year, Bonello is a Cannes regular and was last there with his 2008 film,...

• Offering no shortage of world premieres from auteur filmmakers, the 40th edition of the Directors’ Fortnight contains exactly half of the films being produced or co-produced from the fest’s home turf, this year it will be a mostly French affair. Among the more popular names we find the festival opener slot (announced yesterday) belonging to the long-awaited return of Jerzy Skolimowski and his latest and we also find the likes of former folk who’ve contributed to the section in the past: Joachim Lafosse (Private Property) and Bertrand Bonello (Tiresia) and Claire Simon (Ça brûle). A common meeting place for auteur cinema, a special film was designed to recall the history of the section with testimonies from a who's who of favorite directors in Todd Haynes, Jacques Rozier, Costa Gavras, Michael Raeburn, Ken Loach, Alain Tanner, Carlos Diegues, Werner Herzog, Theo Angelopoulos, André Téchiné, Chantal Akerman, the Taviani brothers,

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