La passion Béatrice

It's an isolated medieval French castle in the middle ages. François de Cortemart grew up without love. He murdered his mother's lover which deprived him of his mother's love. Decades later, he has two children; Béatrice (Julie Delpy) and Arnaud. Béatrice is the purest of innocence. She eagerly awaits her father's return from war with the English. Upon his return, François unleashes his cruelty on his children and the people of the castle.

Julie Delpy is magic. She's unforgettable. Her incest rape is disturbing. My main issue is the cinematography and directing. There are some impressive shots but mostly, it's rather dull. The use of a real place may actually hinder any imaginative camera work. The subject matter is also very tiring. This is not a fun time. This movie grinds down the audience.

Bertrand Tavernier's medieval tragedy is steeped in the superstitions and squalor of 14th century France, offering an all too vivid depiction of a world shackled by its misplaced faith in a divine order behind our Earthly chaos. The script (written by the director's ex-wife) presents a chilling portrait of a nobleman whose fury against women is only one expression of his rage against God. Thirty years after murdering his mother's lover, he brutally torments his own son and corrupts his adoring daughter by first raping her and then proclaiming his intention to take her as his wife. Tavernier captures the often oppressive atmosphere of the setting with plenty of nervous energy, carried along by a restless hand-held camera and the director's astonishing eye for (presumably) authentic period detail. All the primitive manners and arcane medieval symbolism make the film perhaps easier to respect than enjoy; it's a dark and violent film about a dark and violent age, when women, like cattle, were not thought to have immortal souls.

I've never been able to shake this movie. Although I hated it while watching it, its authority convinced me utterly that its portrait of medieval castle life as lonely, dreary, and brutal (contradicting the swashbuckling fantasies in which many of us are apt to indulge) is the way it probably was. Indeed, the recollection of that awful, far-flung, yet confining world overrides and incapacitates every representation of the period I've seen since. It must be one of the most convincing views of a historical era ever put on film. The film itself is brutal; that was one reason I hated watching it; but in retrospect I believe there was no other way to tell the story fairly, and certainly it's the humanity of Beatrice, not the inhumanity of her surroundings, that the film leaves as its final impression. If this isn't a great film, it's a commanding and uncompromising one.

If you like stories filled with brave knights in shiny armor don't watch this movie. Entirely filmed on location, it will make you feel as if being teleported by mistake in an era you would never want to be a part of. You will witness a reality that you will hate and you will come back with the mud, the blood, the stench and the horror.

You will have been there and you won't forget. It won't make you happy. And the worst part : you will realize things haven't changed that much since.

Set in Medieval France, La Passion Beatrice explores the coming of age of a young woman. The film is very bright and colorful, in contrast to the dark themes. The brightness works well to maintain the outlook of youth, of hope, of optimism in the face of the meanness of middle age life. In contrast to the brightness of Beatrice is the darkness of her war hero father who has become a vicious bandit manor lord.

Quite strong, even if a fairly repulsive story.

Watch this once on video with the subtitles covered so you can concentrate on the imagery.