Humanité

REVIEW
Pharaon De Winter (Schotté) is a quietly withdrawn, unremarkable man, a police inspector at times overwhelmed by the stark brutality he encounters in his job. Middle-aged, introspective, still wracked by a recent personal loss, he lives with his mother in a small French farming community, more as an observer than a participant in life. The savagely beautiful, uncompromising Humanité follows his investigation of a particularly horrific crime through a series of vignettes, each revealing a piece of the puzzle or an aspect of a protagonist's character. Director Dumont has structured a psychological portrait in the manner of Jeanne Dielman, a deliberately paced, thoughtfully considered examination of a man who seems sometimes somnambulistic, yet is desirous of connection; a man who stands apart yet is much like any other; a decent man capable of acts of humanity. (French with English subtitles)