Bastards

******** is one of those movies that doesn’t really invite you in — it drags you into something ugly and lets you sit there with it. Claire Denis keeps the story fragmented and cold, but that actually worked for me because the whole movie feels like a nightmare slowly coming into focus.

Vincent Lindon is excellent, and the performances across the board have this exhausted, morally rotten quality that fits the material perfectly. The movie is dark as ****, both visually and emotionally, and there’s a real sense of corruption hanging over everything. Definitely not an easy watch, but it stuck with me.

The Blu-ray release is strong too. The commentary, video essay, archival material, and booklet give you a lot to dig into afterward, and the limited Luke Insect slipcover looks killer in person.

Bleak, uncomfortable, and very much my kind of nasty little noir. 😁

Danis and Lindon. Great!

Claire Denis has had a long and interesting career and this shows an aspect, a unique take on film noir. It's strength lies in its cinematography and striking imagery.

This is one of my *top* Claire Denis films. Completely underrated in my opinion. No one ever talks about it, probably due to subject matter.

Glad I finally own a copy 🙌

Claire Denis is one of my favorite directors and this one I’ve missed out on. So was very excited to pick this up on the recent sale. Very well written essay by Madelyn Sutton.