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Beyond Hatred

Play trailer Poster for Beyond Hatred 2005 1h 30m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In 2002, Francois Chenu was beaten to death for being gay by three drunk neo-Nazi skinheads who initially planned to beat up an Arab. This documentary follows Chenu's family through the legal process as they come to terms with their loss. Despite their grief, Chenu's parents and sister attempt to understand how the skinheads' difficult childhoods led to their actions. The prosecution constructs its case, preparing to ask for the minimum 20-year sentence.

Critics Reviews

View All (19) Critics Reviews
Noel Murray AV Club Visually, Beyond Hatred is precise, handsome -- even brilliant. Rated: B Jun 16, 2007 Full Review Mark Holcomb Time Out Director Olivier Meyrou takes a potently oblique vrit approach, and his remarkable level of access reveals the limitations and equivocal mercies of human understanding with uncommon grace. Rated: 5/6 Jun 16, 2007 Full Review Matt Zoller Seitz New York Times An example of a film whose style doesn't merely suit its story but amplifies its meanings. Rated: 4/5 Jun 15, 2007 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice A documentary that celebrates a cathartic act of forgiveness and reconciliation by a grieving family whose gay son was brutally murdered. Rated: 4/5 Jun 29, 2009 Full Review David Noh Film Journal International Absorbingly covers the 2002 murder in Reims, France, of 29-year-old homosexual Franois Chenu. Jun 25, 2007 Full Review Ken Fox TV Guide Through a series of interviews, we see the effect inexplicable hatred and murder has on an ordinary family. Rated: 2.5/4 Jun 15, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (15) audience reviews
Audience Member Headline affairs often remind me of documentaries I've seen and the events in Orlando recall this film for me. It's name says it all, as the parent's of a gay man murdered by neo-nazis work to achieve such grace. Coincidentally, it's available on Netflix at the moment. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Stylish, tragic, and ultimately intimate. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Unique film style which has a moving result. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Much of what the family says is either unimportant or uninteresting. It's nice that there are real interviews and not that hyperactive junk some docs have become, but that's about it. Almost nothing is revealed about the victim, the attackers faces are never shown and cameras weren't allowed in the courtroom, causing the film-makers to scramble for other less interesting material. This should have been a short, but, as is far too often the case, was padded out to a feature for marketing purposes. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Un film important sur la tolerance et la democratie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member In 2002, Francois Chenu, was savagely beaten and drowned by a group of skinheads for being homosexual. Two years later the central three men involved in the crime come up for trial. The filmmakers focus mainly on Chenu's family, trying to give a portrait of their loss and their attempts to comprehend the crime, in the period leading up to, during and after the trial. This film left me with the feeling of something deeply lacking, I wanted more. We are given very little sense of who Francois was, and of what his life was like. There was an attempt to explore why these three commited the crime but it's not enough. The interview with the father of one of the perpetrators is short and consists mostly of long pauses, we are told via an aunt that the same accused's mother is an alcoholic, that's about as deep as it gets. The filmmakers clearly try to maintain an atmosphere of non-interference and neutrality but all we are left with as viewers is fustration and a feeling of being hardly wiser for the experience. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Beyond Hatred

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 2002, Francois Chenu was beaten to death for being gay by three drunk neo-Nazi skinheads who initially planned to beat up an Arab. This documentary follows Chenu's family through the legal process as they come to terms with their loss. Despite their grief, Chenu's parents and sister attempt to understand how the skinheads' difficult childhoods led to their actions. The prosecution constructs its case, preparing to ask for the minimum 20-year sentence.
Director
Olivier Meyrou
Production Co
Miss Luna Films, Hold Up Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Canadian French
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jun 15, 2007
Release Date (DVD)
May 20, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$949
Runtime
1h 30m