French films have a bad reputation among many Americans, who find their heavy symbolism and slow action boring and obtuse. Despite it's numerous 1999 Cannes Film Festival Awards, Bruno Dumont's "Humanite," which can be seen at the UWM Union Cinema Fri., Feb. 23, as part of the French Film Festival, won't help convert those folks.
Unmarried police superintendent Pharaon De Winter (Emmanuel Schotte) lives with his mother in a working class neighborhood of Bailleul, in Northern France, and "lost" his fiancee and child a few years ago, although we don't find out how. Although he seems a bit dim, we never truly work out whether he's mentally challenged or emotionally exhausted.
As "Humanite" opens, an 11-year-old girl has been raped, murdered and dumped in a field after school. This horrific crime -- the aftermath of which is vividly portrayed in the film -- cuts to the core of Pharaon and the police chief (Ghislain Ghesquere), who both struggle to deal with the emotions it creates and to capture the culprit.
His days are divided between his job and his obsession with his neighbor Domino (Severine Caneele), who is having a rather physical and public relationship with school bus driver Joseph (Philippe Tullier).
Pharaon tags along with Domino and Joseph as they visit the seaside, go to restaurants for dinner and even finds himself looking on as they make love. Despite the pain he feels when he bears witness to their relationship, Pharaon seems unable to avoid watching from his front row seat.
Pharaon is also the great-grandson of a renowned 19th century painter of the same name and has lent an extremely engaging portrait to a museum for a retrospective. The real De Winter's paintings are used in these scenes and represent some of the few glimmers of beauty in a film painted black with a dark premise, often less-than-enchanting landscapes and characters that have been rubbed raw by life.
Despite the ugliness that surrounds him, Pharaon finds compassion and empathy deep inside, especially when the killer is found and Pharaon meets him face to face.
Those looking for a light-hearted French film with lovely scenery and cartoonish characters -- a la "Chocolat" -- won't find much to amuse them in this 2.5-hour film that moves at the pace of escargot. But this stark existential diary opens a window on human pain, suffering, hope and compassion.
N.B. "Humanite" has some graphic moments.
Grade: B+
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
