> REVIEW
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Hors Satan (2011)
Devilishly divine…
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By Danila Lipatov | January 2013
DIRECTOR: Bruno Dumont
WRITER: Bruno Dumont
Bruno Dumont’s sixth and latest feature is yet another sparse exercise in alternative spirituality densely packed with innumerous plagues and miracles which represent indirect allusions to the gospels and questions the true nature of good and evil.
Hors Satan explores the deep platonic bond between goth teenager Elle (Alexandra Lemâtre) and a mysterious, unnamed nature worshipper (David Dewaele) in the French coastal area of Côte d’Opale. Dewaele, who played a strikingly similar, albeit much smaller role in Dumont’s Hadewijch, is a frighteningly authentic taciturn drifter who resorts to acts of both evil and grace which are so impalpable they ruthlessly shatter any and all preconceived notions of morality.
The only difference here is that “Le gars” (the guy) is a much more imposing presence who exerts his authority over the local community and utterly embodies the role of omnipotent angel rampaging the rural countryside. Many of his deeds could be interpreted as miracles but when he murders Elle’s abusive step-father, as well as a local forest guard, Dumont slams the narrative into a moral grey that asks a myriad of complex questions but refuses to offer any answers.
Embracing the Bressonian idea of inexpressive acting Dumont’s gars and girl have an electrifying screen presence but neither can match Emmanuel Schotté’s evocative, mourning policeman in Humanité’ (1999) or Julie Sokolowski’s passionate nun in Hadewijch (2009).
And so despite the sparse acting and rich static compositions by Yves Cape, Dumont’s movie is almost baroque in its tendency to overcharge the story with explicit mysticism which merely distracts from the narrative’s subtle emotional undercurrents.
This abundant cinematic language makes Hors Satan a thought provoking companion piece to the French director’s previous studies of the spiritual but fails to capture the right tone for the final denouement. Its dry nature means the divine intervention comes and goes almost unnoticed.
Script…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Dumont’s typically sparse, challenging narrative is light on dialogue and
structure but heavy on theme and spiritually, masterfully constructing a series
of moral conundrums that forces us to revise our moral code. 3
Direction………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dumont and Cape succeed in crafting modern, often breathtaking images with
sacred power, but the mechanical narrative slowly loses its emotional grip. 3
Verdict…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dumont revisits many of his recurrent themes and staple narrative devices in
his cinematic attempt to refine our sense of the spiritual, and whilst some of his
concepts don’t function quite as effectively here, Hors Satan remains a
beautifully bleak modern day parable. 3
