What is it about?
Between Ma Loute and The Life of Jesus, Between Heaven and Earth, Bruno Dumont offers a caustic, brutal and insane vision of Star Wars.
What will be the craziest movie of 2024? On paper, Blanche Welbeck’s Cannes and Empire seem like the best candidates to win this award!
What these two films, among the most anticipated comedies of the year, have in any case in common is that they were conceived by two filmmakers who so far had a filmography of quite dramatic arthouse films, with some forays into burlesque. (L’Enlèvement. by Michel Houellebecq and Thalasso for Guillaume Niclu, and Ma Lut and Petite Quinquin for the other, Bruno Dumont, which will be discussed at length in this article, thanks to the release of L’Empire this Wednesday). With this empire, Bruno Dumont will undoubtedly present the craziest film of his career, but which, as you will see below, is not unrelated to his previous films!
A divisive film?
ALIENS WITH ALIENS… For this story of aliens bent on conquering humans, director Bruno Dumont envisioned an unrecognizable cinematic entity at the crossroads of Star Wars, Cabbage Soup, and The Life of Jesus, his first feature film. The result is a strange film, but also certainly divisive. We love it or hate it. This is a guarantee, in any case, of a unique film.
As actress Anamaria Vartolomey sums it up, it’s like being.In front of a painting by Francis Bacon at 1:50 p.m“.”It had the same effect on me“- she explains in the Beau Geste show.
“ It’s about people, their primitive needs for sex and violence. We can be destabilized, even disgusted by what we see, but there is a curiosity in us that almost escapes.“, he continues. In the Marie-Claire columns, he indicates that the film is “A combination of paradoxes“To dispel accusations of sexism in the film.
In order to make history, you must avoid any moral judgement
“It seems to me that everything goes through the gaze of the hero John, who is a macho and evil presence. My character is more of a woman of action, hence the anti-woman objectHe adds:In order to make history, you must avoid any moral judgement.“
Casting like you’ve never seen before!
The film’s professional actors give unusual performances here, sometimes against the grain. Anamaria Vartolomei and Lina Khudri have two main female roles and will certainly surprise. Fabrizio Luchin portrays an overexcited Beelzebub. Camille Cotin plays the role of the queen.
One of the features of the film is the mix of professional and amateur actors. Opposite Annamaria Bartholomew, we find Brandon Vliege, a car mechanic, in the main role. “Most of them are from the region, from Boulogne. Brandon Vlieg is a car mechanic, he went to the last casting call organized a few weeks before shooting because I lost the lead actor and most of the cast to months of rental shooting that naturally went haywire. Distribution– explains Bruno Dumont in the press kit.
Another peculiarity: the actors were directed with headphones, as Sophie Letourneur did recently for Voyages en Italy, or even Claire Simon in Vous ne wish que moi.
Lina Khudri in Empire
Very famous movie!
The first reference that jumps out at you is obviously Star Wars. The film’s pitch doesn’t hide it, stating that it’s a “caustic, brutal and insane take on Star Wars.” However, Bruno Dumont was not trying to make a pastiche, but wanted to cross his world with the Star Wars universe to give it a wider scale.
“In cinema, space odysseys, more or less successfully, are big, very cinematic spectacles where humanity’s great unresolved metaphysical questions are played out metaphorically – because of its connections to the places and abysses of our inner lives: the search for the absolute. , the origin and end of the world, the battle between good and evil, the apocalypse, exile, invasion, mysteries of life, love… all with mythological and legendary characters beneath the exterior and an inexhaustible source of locations. and time, past, present and future. Thus, intergalactic space in the cinema is represented and naturally a very meditative landscape, which encourages the great speculation of their ships or even the actual “journey” beyond everything.– explains Bruno Dumont in the press kit.
Empire is a sequel to my first film, The Life of Jesus
Another reference: The Life of Jesus, Bruno Dumont’s first feature film. “Empire is a prequel to my first film, The Life of Jesus, a prequel to its protagonist, Freddy. her peplum“, notes Bruno Dumont.
Fans of Bruno Dumont’s films will also see a connection to his P’tit Quinquin series, as two of the film’s investigators make several small appearances in The Empire.
Add to that Tomb Raider (for Annamaria Bartholomew’s outfit) and Matrix (for the actor’s choreography). Finally, as for Fabre Luchin, his costume is a direct echo of Louis Jove’s Dom Juan.
Find all the movie releases of the week
Empire Bruno Dumont hits theaters this Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
