L' humanité Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

L' humanité Blu-ray Movie Review

An exceptional presentation for an overlong, self-indulgent mess

L'humanité is the second feature from acclaimed writer-director Bruno Dumont (who won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes). The feature was produced by Rachid Bouchareb (Cheb, Little Senegal) and Jean Bréhat (West Beirut). The storyline follows the events surrounding a investigation following the brutal rape and murder of a young 11 year old girl. The young girl is left dead in barren outdoor fields and it is up to Police Detective Pharaon De Winter (Emmanuel Schotté) to investigate and solve the violent murder.

Working with the community's Police Commissioner (Ghislain Ghesquère), Pharaon is in charge of running the young girls murder investigation. As the storyline slowly unfolds, the detective spends his time watching his neighbor Domino (Severine Caneele) having sex with her boyfriend. He also goes on bicycle rides, watches sports, and navel-gazes. He spends his time working on his gardening. He is also faced with confronting his sexuality (and homosexual eroticism). Will Pharaon actually solve the murder or simply hang out with Domino until the end credits start to roll? That's a great question for this overlong, self-indulgent, and laborious art-house film.

Though the film does have a distinct style that is clearly the work of Bruno Dumont (La vie de Jésus, Camille Claudel 1915) the filmmaking is often laborious and uneventful. When one expects for the mystery of the murder to unfold, the leading characters instead stand around while talking about things that have nothing to do with the main plot. This is a film full of ordinary scenes where nothing happens. It's almost like watching paint dry.

A detective film that sometimes feels like an art-house mockumentary

There are frequent realistic sex scenes which seem completely unconnected with the central story. These scenes do not provide palpable eroticism (they merely seem to exist). (Dumont explains in the bonus features that one of the more emotional scenes in the film was originally intended to have characters undress and have sex on a table. One of the actors convinced him to change it.) These scenes might not seem so annoying if not for the fact this is a 2 ½ hour film which plods along at a glacial pace and which sometimes seems to resemble a mockumentary.

One element which was appreciable is the music score composed by Richard Cuvillier (La vie de Jésus, Xueiv). The classical-style music is often haunting and it compliments the filmmaking while making a distinctive impression. The essence of the visuals also impress with beautiful cinematography by Yves Cape (Holy Motors, White Material) helping to give the film a dark and stylish sensibility.

The direction, however distinctive, is where it falters. L'humanité is so enamored with itself that one almost wonders if the film was even made with an audience in mind. When the conclusion is met, one wonders why the story took so long to reach its conclusion (and why Detective Pharaon De Winter was so lackadaisical). In the end, L'humanité is good at reflecting what it means to be human: that is to say, while there are moments of beauty it is also deeply flawed.

L' humanité Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection, L'humanité has received a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original 2.35:1 widescreen theatrical aspect ratio. This presentation is of a new 4K restoration supervised and approved of by director Dumont. The film restoration efforts are impressive and the film has great clarity, depth, and detail. The image looks naturally filmic and pristine. The scan was taken from the original camera negative and the results showcase once again just how impressive Criterion's restorative efforts can be. The color palette is somewhat reserved but it is superbly rendered, film grain looks well-preserved, and the film is sharp without the drawbacks of artificial enhancement.

L' humanité Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

L'humanité features a French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound presentation. The audio track on this release is superb. Dialogue clarity is exceptional and the surround sound design is surprisingly strong for a foreign-language film. The 24 bit high resolution audio sounds superb with excellent detail in the mix. The music score sounds terrific throughout. There is a note regarding the audio restoration efforts from the Criterion leaflet: "The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the two-inch 24-track magnetic tape." There are no problems on the track with cracks, hiss, and other distracting detriments.

L' humanité Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Bruno Dumont (HD, 14:59) is an interview conducted with the director with the Criterion Collection. The interview was filmed in 2019. In this short piece, Dumont explores his approach to making his second feature film with L'humanité.

Philippe Rouyer (HD, 31:19) conducts a sit-down interview with Dumont about L'humanité and his creative process in developing the feature and its story. Conducted in 2014, the lengthy piece covers a lot of ground and provides a more in-depth glimpse at the thoughts of its filmmaker.

Tendances (SD, 7:22) is a short segment taken from an episode of the television program. The piece explores the work of actress Severine Caneele and her role in the film as Domino. This short piece originally aired on television in 2000.

News Program (SD, 5:49) is another insightful interview featuring director Dumont as he discusses his work making L'humanité. The piece explores the filmmaker's origins and hometown. Unlike a sitting interview, Dumont actually walks around the city and even takes a trip to an art museum while discussing the film and his artistic process.

Theatrical Trailer (SD, 1:53)

Leaflet featuring an essay on the film written by Nicholas Elliott, notes regarding the transfer, cast/crew credits, and more.

L' humanité Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unlike Dumont's self-assured debut, L'humanité is a less successful second outing from the filmmaker. The former brevity has been replaced with an overlong film that feels an hour too long at around 2 ½ hours. While this exorbitant run-time might be excusable with a proper storyline, the film mostly features characters wandering about town, having sex, riding their bicycles, and standing against walls.

The concept and origin of the story feels like the grounds for a more involving film but instead Dumont is more concerned with gazing at the countryside. At times, L'humanité even feels like an art-house attempt at parodying a detective-film as the lead character seems more preoccupied with Domino's romantic-life and watching television than his mission as a detective. A missed opportunity.

The Criterion Collection Blu-ray release features an exceptional presentation with a 4K restoration, first-rate audio, and a strong collection of supplemental features. Fans of the film will be pleased. Everyone else should consider a rental first.