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Bastards

Play trailer Poster for Bastards 2013 1h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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68% Tomatometer 56 Reviews 36% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Marco is called back to Paris when his brother-in-law commits suicide and his niece is hospitalized after a rape.

Critics Reviews

View All (56) Critics Reviews
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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (25) audience reviews
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 Audience Member give it a chance great movie Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member One line summary: Told slowly in noir style, to a harsh conclusion. ---------------------------------- Marco is the captain of a supertanker. He's at sea and life is good. Pull the chain on that. Marco's sister Sandra calls him back in desperation: her husband has committed suicide, her daughter Justine is in a tailspin, and the family business is not going well. Sandra accuses wealthy business man Edouard Laporte as the cause of these ill fortunes. So Marco, in his own particular way, goes after Edouard. Marco's fortunes diminish, and he discovers a number of discouraging truths about his family. This gets more evident when a young man offers to sell Justine back to him for 5000 francs. Will Marco pull himself and his family out of this downward spiral, or will external forces be too great for that? -----Scores----- Cinematography: 6/10 For much of the screen time, there was not enough light or too much light, odd choices of camera angles, strange depth of field choices...in other words, much of the noir package. The filming of the car ride with passengers and drivers high on drugs was quite emblematic of this. I did not find this helpful or illustrative, even though this is a dark tale. Sound: 7/10 OK, redeemed by the sound track with the closing credits. Acting: 6/10 Screenplay: 6/10 A bit lurching for my taste. The film jumps from segment to segment to segment, with time references not all that clear, with one message. All the characters are flawed and disgusting. Got it: noir. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Bastards

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Movie Info

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
Olivier Thery-Lapiney, Laurence Clerc, Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua
Screenwriter
Jean-Pol Fargeau, Claire Denis
Production Co
Pandora Produktion, Alcatraz Films, arte France Cinéma, Goodfellas S.L.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 6, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.2K
Runtime
1h 40m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)