Artificial intelligence has almost taken over the work force in this science fiction and romantic melodrama. Humans have become unable to make rational decisions because they are too emotional.
Struggling to get a job, Gabrielle (brilliantly played by Lea Seydoux) decides to purify her DNA by revisiting her previous lives, in order to rid herself of strong emotions and better her prospects.
During this process ,a machine immerses her in her previous lives in 1910 and 2014, and she meets and is attracted to Louis (George MacKay, who learned to speak French to play the part.) and the feeling is mutual.
The film moves about between the past and the future in 2044, spanning three time periods.
In 1910 Paris, Gabrielle is an acclaimed pianist who owns a doll factory with her husband. Meeting up with Louis, she invites him to visit the factory where a fire breaks out and they drown in an effort to escape.
In 2014, she is a model and actress. Louis is an incel complaining that he is a virgin. They meet up at a club.
Award winning director Bertrand Bonello (who has been recognised by the French government for his significant contribution to the arts) started writing the screenplay in 2017, based loosely on a novella by Henry James called The Beast in the Jungle. He also produced the film and wrote the excellent musical score with his daughter Anna.
It is an epic, full of intriguing and unsettling themes.
Bonello has mused that his work could be exploring “the fear of love..It could also be the fear of something you don’t know, or of a catastrophe, or of everything. There is a beast, but it’s invisible. Something will happen”.
146 minutes.
Spoken in English and French languages.
Now showing at Luna Leederville.
Watch the trailer…
