REVIEW: Dumont's Relentless, Metaphysical Look at "Humanity"

REVIEW: Dumont's Relentless, Metaphysical Look at "Humanity"

by Mark Peranson

["Humanite," which indieWIRE first reviewed at the 2000 Rotterdam Film Festival, opens theatrically this week"]

(indieWIRE/2.10.2000) -- Soon to be the most controversial film released this millennium -- the
courageous folks at
WinStar plan a limited booking this Spring -- Bruno Dumont's relentless,
unique "Humanity" has divided critics since its debut at Cannes last
year, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. As enough time has passed since
jury head David Cronenberg's wacky decision, I'm eager to examine the
film on its own merits, not in the maelstrom of unduly warranted,
American-centric Cannes criticism.

A painting that moves as slow as life itself, "Humanity" is an
intellectually rigorous, powerful, philosophical work about the basic
metaphysical issues that concern us all. Dumont shows what is often left
unseen, and shocks with the way he chooses to depict us.
Set in the picturesque countryside town of Bailleuil where Dumont lives,
and where the
action of his acclaimed debut "La Vie de Jesus" takes place, "Humanity"
is a