Bastards

2013

1h 40m

Drama

List

68%

56 Reviews

Tomatometer

36%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Marco is called back to Paris when his brother-in-law commits suicide and his niece is hospitalized after a rape.

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Violet Lucca

Little White Lies

In a year where art-house releases and blockbusters were seemingly in competition for the longest running time, Claire Denis' Bastards is an exercise in pure economy.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 20, 2016

Full Review

Tara Brady

Irish Times

Bastards is Denis' most eventful, impactful film in quite some time. But one couldn't warmly recommend it.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 28, 2014

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Claire Denis comes unstuck with this drearily angst-ridden tale of suicide, sexual violence and incestuous strife, which takes inspiration from Faulkner's Sanctuary and Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 16, 2014

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

Denis’ typically impeccable editing strings together individually stunning shots into fast-paced hypnosis, but her fluid command meshes poorly with self-conscious morbidity, culminating in an arguably silly/unnecessarily provocation-minded ending.

Jan 25, 2023

Full Review

Dustin Chang

Floating World

Its pulpy premise and fuzzy the ending didn't really bother me. I hear this was Denis' first foray into digital filmmaking, but with Agnes Godard at the DP helm, the images are just as mesmerizing as her previous films.

Feb 24, 2021

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

On mood and atmosphere alone, Bastards is highly impressive and one of Denis' strongest works.

Rated: 7.4/10

Jun 22, 2019

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John A

The opening sepia-laden sequence is mesmerizing. 30 to 40 minutes in I was almost completely checked out. It isn't a middling film because of Claire Denis' economic approach. 'Bastards' is middling and pretty forgettable because of the shallow and underdeveloped story.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Some "Irreversible" moments that are difficult to watch, and Vincent Lindon cast himself well as the uber masculine sailor, but overall it's a slower burn than it needs to...

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Serge L

I think the title describes almost all of the characters. The editing and the story are hard to follow. All that puts off the senses and no matter how hard you look, there are no heroes, on the contrary.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/31/20

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Audience Member

give it a chance great movie

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Billed as a revenge thriller this French picture doesn't really follow through will the thrills being quite a slow burner. What the film does deliver is a very dark brooding tale in which no character is untarnished but its pacing is its primary flaw.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

French very own thrilling style.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Claire Denis

Director

Vincent Lindon

Marco Silvestri

Chiara Mastroianni

Raphaëlle

Julie Bataille

Sandra

Michel Subor

Edouard Laporte

Lola Créton

Justine

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Synopsis

Marco is called back to Paris when his brother-in-law commits suicide and his niece is hospitalized after a rape.

Director: Claire Denis
Producer: Vincent Maraval
Screenwriter: Jean-Pol Fargeau, Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 6, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.2K
Runtime: 1h 40m

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