Peau d'homme coeur de bête (1999) Directed by Hélène Angel
Drama
aka: Skin of Man, Heart of Beast
Film Review
This début feature-length film from director
Hélène Angel is a spirited attempt to portray
the tensions and passions within a dysfunctional family.
Although there are some fairly convincing performances from most of the cast (Bernard Blancan
deserves a special mention), the film is hampered by weak characterisation
which renders the plot unbelievable in parts. Very little attempt
is made at rationalising why the characters behave as they do - the men act
like brutish Neanderthals whose main pleasure in life is beating up women, whilst the women
give themselves up as either victims or prostitutes and deserve everything that comes their way.
Had the film been made in Neolith times, this scenario might have been convincing,
but in our slightly more enlightened age it is hard to take seriously.
Compare this with Axelle Ropert's take on the dysfunctional family
La Famille Wolberg (2009),
which is many times more convincing, despite its more humorous slant.
Peau d'homme coeur de bête does have a distinctive
character and its author is to be given credit for tackling
such a difficult subject without resorting to the familiar clichés.
Unfortunately, the narrative has no clear focus and loses its way as
the film tries to tell the story from multiple perspectives - an approach that might have work
had more care and attention gone into the script.
Hélène Angel followed up this provocative first feature with
the slightly more palatable
Rencontre avec le dragon (2003) and
Propriété interdite (2011).
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Film Synopsis
Discharged from the police for assaulting a prostitute, Francky retreats to the family
homestead in the country, where his elderly mother and younger brother Alex live with
his two young daughters (the product of a broken marriage). Soon after, Franky's
elder brother turns up after a fifteen year absence, claiming to have spent all that time
in the Foreign Legion. Old enmities resurface as the relationship between the three
brothers becomes increasingly strained...
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.