On 2009-11-03 Andrew Ellington, Mulholland Drive wrote: A startling look at the inner demons of mankind, Jean Renoir´s tragic film noir `La Bete Humaine´ is one of the finest additions to cinema. It is equal parts chilling and seductive, with powerful performances, stylistic direction and heart-racing tension. `La Bete Humaine´ is a perfectly concocted film that covers nearly every base with a clear vision that is destined to stain your soul.
The film tells two different stories that intertwine to make one very concise and profound tale. We have Jacques Lantier (a brilliant Jean Gabin), a train engineer who has a very mysterious and apparently violent past. He has no relationship outside of the one with his train, but there is a reason for that. On the other hand we have Severine (a stunning and utterly delicious Simone Simon) and her jealous husband Roubaud. When Roubaud finds out of a previous relationship he finds distasteful he takes matters into his own hands and commits a heinous crime, a crime that Jacques finds himself privy.
The film straddles the line of thriller and film noir with its tasteful handling of the chemistry between Gabin and Simon. There is a restrained theatrical tampering with their love affair (the stills this movie creates with the two of them standing side by side are so in your face yet breathtakingly quiet) that really gets my temperature rising. It´s a beautifully handled love story that really unravels at a velocity I find stunning.
The film appears to completely ditch the development of Lantier´s violent past when Roubaud commits murder, but this is a clever diversion to something that is growing and growing with each scene. We are taking away from the point of the film through a series of beautifully paced scenes involving Severine and her husband so that when Jacques succumbs to his obsessions we are blown away by the outcome.
But should we be?
I have not read the novel from which this film was adapted, but my appetite has been wetted. There is a marvelously crafted story here of the mind. The mind is a very complicated gift, and this film takes no precautions in portraying that mind as something unexplainable and truly contradictory. I love the fact that one is almost left confused by the ending, as if the story is incomplete, but it is that incompleteness that really elevates the tale and is precisely the point.
Sometimes there are no explanations for our actions.. And summed up by saying This is one beast of a film.... Currently La Bete Humaine - Criterion Collection has an overall rating of 8 over 10.
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Curt Courant claimed Based on the classic Emile Zola novel, Jean Renoir´s La bete humaine was one of the legendary director´s greatest popular successes, tapping into the fatalism of a nation in despair. Jean Gabin´s emblematic portrayal of doomed train engineer Jacques Lantier granted him a permanent place in the hearts of his countrymen. Part poetic realism, part film noir, the film is a hard-boiled and suspenseful journey into the tormented psyche of a workingman. SPECIAL FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the original uncut version. Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir. New interview with director Peter Bogdanovich. Archival interviews with Renoir discussing his adaptation of Emile Zola´s novels, his process with actors, and directing actress Simone Simon. Gallery of on-set photographs and theatrical posters. Theatrical trailer. New and improved English subtitle translation. A booklet featuring writings by film critic Geoffrey O´Brien, historian Ginette Vincendeau, and production designer Eugene Lourie.
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