Hide Map. Folding history onto itself more explicitly than any of Bonello's previous films, Zombi Child peels back centuries of racist stereotypes to rescue Voodoo from the stuff of black magic and portray it instead as a kind of communion a communion between spirits, a communion between generations, and a communion between the dislocated joints of an empire. Fifty-five years later in Paris, at a prestigious all-girls boarding school, Melissa (Wislanda Louimat), a young Haitian teenager, confesses an old family secret to a group of new friends—never imagining that this strange tale will convince a heartbroken classmate to do the unthinkable. After all, “Zombi Child” is a multi-generational cautionary tale that’s focused on Haitian voodoo and the way that its seen with a mix of fascination and skepticism by a new generation of young Frenchwomen, including Mélissa (Wislanda Louimat), a Haitian schoolgirl whose family’s ties to voodoo culture are somewhat explained throughout the movie, but never fully demystified. Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, and elsewhere. Haiti, 1962: a man (Mackenson Bijou) is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields. The film opens in Haiti in 1962, where Clairvius Narcisse ( Mackenson Bijou ) mysteriously falls ill and dies. By David Hudson. Written and directed by Bertrand Bonello (“Nocturama,” “House of Tolerance”), “Zombi Child” definitely feels like the kind of movie whose creators might defend its existence by noting that “the film is thoroughly and precisely documented” (as Bonello does in the movie’s press notes). svg-skull. Bertrand Bonello on Zombi Child first published by VODzilla.co, from an interview conducted while he was at the BFI London Film Festival 2019. The latest from French master Bertrand Bonello (Saint Laurent, Nocturama), ZOMBI CHILD is an “audacious and cunning” (Little White Lies) new take on classic horror tropes that “poses timely and provocative questions” while “taking us on a journey that’s as intellectually demanding as it is compelling.” (Screen Daily). Around the World: January 2020. ZOMBI CHILD does get a bit slow in the beginning but it kept me on my toes until the 3rd act where everything went bunkers and I loved it! Find trailers, reviews, synopsis, awards and cast information for Zombi Child (2020) - Bertrand Bonello on AllMovie - After her parents died in the earthquake that hit… Un homme est ramené d'entre les morts pour être envoyé de force dans l'enfer des plantations de canne à sucre. Bertrand Bonello’s Zombi Child. Bertrand Bonello’s. Directed by Bertrand Bonello. Review: 'Zombi Child' is a zombie movie like no other - … In Paris, 55 years later, at a prestigious all-girls boarding school, Melissa, a young Haitian teenager, confesses an old family secret to a group of new friends, never imagining that this strange tale will convince a heartbroken classmate to do the unthinkable. While the film, with its sequences showing Haitian ceremonies, might strike some as a white French director indulging in exoticism, Bonello takes Haitian history and culture absolutely seriously, and in juxtaposing them with the most exclusively white French experience imaginable (the school is for children and descendants of Légion d’Honneur laureates), Zombi Child poses … Plot isn’t really the thing in “Zombi Child,” since the movie is explicitly about a disjointed “subterranean history” of events, as Fanny and Mélissa’s 19th century history teacher (Patrick Boucheron) explains during an introductory lecture. svg-skull. Louise Labeque and Wislanda Louimat in Bertrand Bonello’s Zombi Child (2019) C lairvius Narcisse was an actual Haitian man who was still relatively young and by all accounts healthy when, in 1962, when he appeared to drop dead in the street. Going back and forth from Haiti in the 60s, 80s and Paris today, Bertrand Bonello explores different generations, cultures and beliefs in a beautiful way, capturing roots from every corner. He was given … French films at the 2020 Rotterdam International Film Festival. “Zombi Child” is obviously not a run-of-the-mill teen drama, but it’s still satisfying for the mix of empathy, fascination, and mild critical distance that Bonello uses to depict Fanny and Mélissa’s otherwise inaccessible world of sisterly bonding and schoolyard daydreaming. Directed by Bertrand Bonello. Zombi Child (2019), Sarah Winchester, Ghost Opera (2016), Nocturama (2015) News (15) January 29, 2020. Much of “Zombi Child” isn’t even directly about Mélissa or her heritage; instead, Bonello usually treats her as the subject of unsettling fascination for Fanny (Louise Labéque), a lovesick and very fair teenager who’s also obsessed with the memory of her boyfriend Pablo (Sayyid El Alami). A man is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. His work has also been associated with the New French Extremity. svg-play Play svg-play Trailer. Zombi Child. Definitely satisfying and it closes the story very well. January 24, 2020. Bertrand Bonello's hypnotic latest film, set in 1962 Haiti and present-day France, takes on the horrors of colonialism. Fanny wants something from Mélissa given her association with voodoo, like when Mélissa recites René Depestre’s Cap’tain Zombi poem during an initiation ceremony for Fanny’s literary sorority. He lets their contradictory and sometimes fickle behavior speak for them, as when Fanny’s friends (all white) try to decide if Mélissa is “cool” or “weird” before they wonder aloud if a boy is genuinely attractive or only “fake sexy.” Soon after that, they all sing a French rap song with lyrics like "I hate cops ‘cause cops hate what we are,” "only my crew knows who I am,” and "this ain't love, I just want your ass.” Bonello’s young heroines are, in that sense, allowed to be young without being condemned too harshly for it. Much of “Zombi Child” isn’t even directly about Mélissa or her heritage; instead, Bonello usually treats her as the subject of unsettling fascination for Fanny (Louise Labéque), a lovesick and very fair teenager who’s also obsessed with the memory of her boyfriend Pablo (Sayyid El Alami). 55 years later, a Haitian teenager tells her friends her family secret - not suspecting that it will push one of them to commit the irreparable. “Zombi Child” is, in some ways, an attempt to answer that question with a counter-narrative about an unidentified Haitian man (Mackenson Bijou) who, in 1962, was buried alive by white colonists, and brought back to life as an undead zombi slave. Cinéma Moderne. In that sense, the slow, semi-naturalistic process by which we learn about Fanny’s intentions—she wants to use voodoo … Bonello allows Zombi Child to gradually swell as he cuts back and forth from Narcisse’s ordeal to Fanny’s “ordeal”: The film opens up like a grim umbrella of dread over time, Bonello… Writer/director/producer/composer Bertrand Bonello is best known on these shores for The Pornographer (2001), Tiresia (2003), House of Tolerance (2011) and Nocturama (2016) – films which often deploy a certain icy … As Haitian teenager Mélissa (Wislanda Louimat) adjusts to life in a Parisian boarding school, the legacy of her grandfather Clairvus Narcisse’s past haunts her: he was a zombi in Haiti, drugged by slavers and forced to work on a plantation. Iconoclastic auteur Bertrand Bonello blends voodoo, postcolonial tensions, and the spirit of Jacques Tourneur and Val Lewton to create a shivery, hypnotic excursion into heady horror. Then again, Bonello’s general preference for keeping several key plot points ambiguous is ultimately what makes “Zombi Child” a good, but not great story about counter-culture, as it’s experienced by members of a dominant culture. Haiti, 1962. Smart and provocative with a pop sensibility, Bertrand Bonello’s Zombi Child returns the genre made famous by George A. Romero to its roots as a metaphor for slavery. Starring Louise Labeque, Wislanda Louimat, Mackenson Bijou. Originating from Haitian folklore in the early 19th century, the Creole word “zombi” referred to the trancelike state of starved plantation workers kept alive against their will. Show Map. The new French voodoo/gothic drama “Zombi Child” is mostly satisfying, but also a little frustrating because of its creators’ walking-on-shells sensitivity. Bonello often resists the temptation to criticize his young protagonists’ too harshly. A man is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields. This man’s connection with Mélissa is unclear for a while, but there is obviously something between them, just as there’s an undefined, but powerful kind of attraction between Fanny and Mélissa. I like “Zombi Child” for its frank, seductive depiction of clashing cultures, as well as the care and reverence that Bonello brings to the direction and lighting of his movie’s Haiti-set scenes. Review: 'Zombi Child' Is A Brainy Film Writer-director Bertrand Bonello uses the tale of a Haitian zombie to explore intergenerational racial trauma in this quiet, moody film. St-Laurent, Montreal, QC, Canada H2T 1R8. Directed by Bertrand Bonello • 2019 • France What scares Bonello, as Zombi Child makes abundantly clear, is lack of control, of being held accountable for the sins of other people. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies. Joyous news, thus, to hear he’s at work on a new feature, La Bête (that’s The Beast for those of us who parle Anglais), with Saint Laurent stars Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel leading, according to Les Inrockuptibles. Zombi Child. Seeing what he’s done with his true stab at horror, it’s easy to understand why he was worried. Are stories or events that don’t fit these narratives any less authentic? “Zombi Child” feels like a pre-fab cult movie, or at least Bonello’s attempt at an eccentric genre twist like Claire Denis’ “Trouble Every Day.” But his … With Louise Labeque, Wislanda Louimat, Katiana Milfort, Mackenson Bijou. Displaying the same audaciousness he did in Saint Laurent and Nocturama, Bonello shifts seamlessly between eras, weaving a spellbinding vision of the ways in which colonialism’s legacy continues to haunt the present. Hard to tell how these two narrative threads are related Until later on in the dark, but visions. 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