Review of the movie “The Beast”. Fear of the unknown

The latest work of Bertrand Bonello, a thoughtful French filmmaker, is a terrifying prediction of a world that is going to be dominated by artificial intelligence and where human emotions no longer exist. Stay with Zoomji.

beast It is a new work by Bertrand Bonello. An experimentalist filmmaker who has previously made similar films Nocturna (2016) and baby zombie (2019) had made a name for himself. Someone who tries to go to new climates in every movie; Although with relatively similar narrative ideas. beast It had its first show in the past Venice festival and tells a story in an advanced and technological world in 2044. When artificial intelligence is very advanced and has almost completely replaced humans in the developed world. Now in this world, if a survivor of the human world wants to have a “sensitive” job, he must pass the tests of these proud artificial intelligences. A sci-fi idea that has led to one of the most attractive films of 2023 with the addition of a romantic layer.

In the continuation of the text, the story of the film is revealed.

We said that Bonello uses the same narrative methods in his films to some extent. To make the discussion clearer and for the reader who is less familiar with this filmmaker, it should be said that the first key to dealing with Bonello's films is “patience”. Not necessarily in the sense that movies have a slow rhythm; Rather, it means that the story of the movies usually does not become fully revealed until around the end of the movie. Bonello's use of this narrative method in baby zombie It was very radical. There, we were faced with two narrative lines that were shown to the audience in parallel. One in the present time and the other in an unknown time and place.

The second narrative line was so vague that watching it only caused confusion; Especially since there was very little dialogue and it was narrated in a cold and dark atmosphere. But it was at the end of the film that the audience understood the connection between these two narrative lines and realized the main meaning of the film's narration. In this way, the surprise of the film would be more basic and the pleasure of discovery would be doubled for the audience.

The first key to dealing with Bonello's films is patience. Not necessarily in the sense that movies have a slow rhythm; Rather, it means that the story of the films usually does not become fully revealed until around the end of the film

beast It is also to some extent. It is surprising and confusing to see the different spaces of the film, while they do not have a clear relationship with each other spatially and historically. Something that starts from the very beginning with a sequence showing Gabrielle's character (Léa Seydoux) in the green room of a studio playing for a commercial. In the first encounter, it is not clear what this sequence is and what it reveals about the story. Only the element of “fear” comes up as something symbolic of the fight in this sequence, which we later learn is the key to getting close to Gabriel's character. This element is further expanded in the next sequence. A sequence in a completely different world from the opening of the film. Where we are faced with another character played by Seydoux, who meets a man (George McKay) whom he met earlier in another city. This reunion creates an excuse to talk about the same fear. A fear that seems to be always and always associated with this character.

It is in the next sequence that we realize the line and connection of these narrative layers. This time, Bonello reveals the connections earlier – but still with great ambiguity – to the audience so that he can delve more into his intended love story. In the sequence that takes place in the present time, we gradually realize that it is now 2044 and the world is surrounded by artificial intelligence. They are the ones who manage the world. A world depicted in mezzanine, very lonely, gray, with a lot of horizontal and vertical lines and in a completely cold and unsalted atmosphere. The more closed frame has also helped to induce this state. A world where human passion has only been transferred to limited and closed spaces. A more limited world that requires characters to be soulless in order to entrust them with “sensitive” tasks. Humans in this world need to purify their DNA so that they can get rid of emotions. This issue also justifies the color palette of this world for the audience. The more emotionless, the grayer the colors!

In one of the sequences related to the past, we see Gabriel and his lover visiting a doll factory. Where it's producing thousands of identical dolls—something AI wants to do to real humans.

From here, it is clear what the layer of the narrative that goes on in the past is related to. In a purification program, Gabriel is required to go through experiences in order to lose the feelings associated with his fear. Emotions that do not allow him to get important and vital jobs. With these simulation programs and these time travel, beast It leaves the discussion open for examining other concepts – such as reincarnation – and summons them as well. In the sense that it unites the purification process in the film with the idea of ​​reincarnation and different lives to reach evolution and connects them together. This idea is emphasized when, in one of the flashback sequences, we see Gabriel and her lover, Louie (McKay), visiting a doll factory. Where it's producing thousands of identical dolls – something AI wants to do to real humans in 2044.

Gabriel always has the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. She also leaves her husband for this reason, and in past lives or simulations of the purification program, she has always struggled with this fear and finally succumbed to it. But what is Gabriel's fear? love? Death? Or an animal – in the sense of an emotionless human being? The final sequence, where he finally becomes completely unconcerned about his purification, is very important. He returns to the bar to see Louie. We have seen before that they have met each other in the high corridors of that cold office. So it stands to reason that Louis is also going through a purification program.

If Twin Peaks is a legendary story of the fight between good and evil, and Laura's scream means the victory of evil, then Gabriel's scream here also represents the defeat of man against artificial intelligence and its soulless world.

However, this meeting does not go as Gabriel intends. It's true that his cleanup plan failed, but Louie managed to get a job at the Department of Justice. Now he's become the kind of person AIs need to be tasked with – emotionless. One who “loves” Gabriel and becomes “glad to see him”; But he does not understand what “love” is. This is where Gabriel lets out a loud scream. A scream that is a sad sign of a bigger failure. Losing people and love. The very thing he was afraid of from the beginning. The mise-en-scène of this scene shows a very clever reference on the part of the filmmaker. In a hall covered with long red curtains, a blonde woman screams out of helplessness. A scream meaning the loss of humanity: exactly the same as the mise-en-scène and what happened in the red room Twin Peaks It was happening! If Twin Peaks It is a legendary story of the fight between good and evil, and Laura's scream means the victory of evil, so here Gabriel's scream represents the defeat of man from artificial intelligence and its soulless world.

This is how Bonello reacts to the upcoming events. He gives a warning that the time will come when another holocaust will take place, on the other hand, in the context of the genocide of “man” and his transformation into an unfeeling beast. The final joke of the film in the credits is also designed for this reason. Instead of the usual cast names on the screen, we have a QRcode that takes us to the main credits. Bonello himself said in an interview that this idea was formed because it is a symbol of “dehumanization”. The name of the people who produced such a work will be removed. What the movie is trying to show.