The most famous scene in Denis Ménochet’s career takes place almost exclusively at a table: In Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, his farmer LaPadite sits across from SS officer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who suspects Jews are hiding in the hut. The conversation between the two develops from whistles, milk glasses and excessive speeches unbearable pressure, under which LaPadite finally collapses. What you would hardly have expected at first sight of Ménochet.
Inglourious Basterds was the character actor’s breakthrough, now he’s starring, like in Thriller The Beasts (OT: As bestas). In it, his neighbors try to bully the organic farmer from the village. With terribly exciting consequences.
The highly suspenseful thriller with Tarantino star Denis Ménochet runs in Cannes
I owe the fact that I saw the thriller at all to a happy coincidence. The synopsis sounded interchangeable (a French couple clashes with the Spanish locals in Galicia) and on this one penultimate day of the Cannes Festival I wanted to take it easy. After all, at some point you have to sleep in, take out the garbage from the film criticism flat share and take a look at the sea.
© Arcadia Motion Pictures
The Beasts
As is always the case in Cannes, I was just waiting for my espresso in the Festival Palais when a colleague warmly recommended The Beasts to me. Half an hour later I was sitting in the air-conditioned hall. Another 137 minutes later I left the cinema happy. If that’s not a reason to exe espresso three times a day!
As written: Ménochet and his film wife Marina Foïs play a role Couple from France, which is a dream come true in this northwestern corner of Spain. For several years they have lived in the rustic mountains, growing vegetables and renovating ramshackle local stone houses in hopes of later selling them.
Meanwhile, neighbors in the village have another dream: they want to sell the land to a windmill company and this one godforsaken piece of earth left for a better life. For this they need the approval of Antoine and Olga who have moved in. Two brothers (Luis Zahera and Diego Anido) want to get her to do this with great enthusiasm.
The western-tinged thriller builds up a grueling atmosphere of paranoia
stand at the beginning attempts at intimidation. Opened bottles of liquor left on the terrace by Antoine and Olga. Nocturnal visits to someone else’s property. Antoine is not a child of sadness, he shares responsibility for the escalation that hangs early in the fresh mountain air.
© Arcadia Motion Pictures
The Beasts
The driving but subtle score and the lurking camera stir up quickly feeling of oppression in a landscape that should actually radiate majestic size. Wherever Antoine walks with his unfortunately unreliable dog Titan, one thought dominates: someone could be waiting for him.
The screenplay by director Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña dispenses with simple villains. Rather, it draws in complex picture of conflicting interests, which rub against each other until sparks fly. The two authors tell all of this in such a controlled manner and with the necessary calm that even a shocking twist fits into the action like a terrifying but logical development.
This makes the cleverly and ambivalently constructed thriller The Beasts one of the genre insider tips for this year’s Cannes edition. Please spread the word!