Claire Denis and I own the same pants. (Owning the same pants as your hero almost but not quite feels like an achievement.) I learned this yesterday at a screening of Denis’s new film, Bastards. She was in town, wearing my pants, for TIFF’s retrospective of her work, “Objects of Desire: The Cinema of Claire Denis,” and introduced the movie in person. Bastards is Denis’s take on noir, and it is bleak, unconventional and difficult (all attributes of a movie worth your time). I’m still digesting it—especially the final scene.
I also attended a screening of one of my favourites, Beau Travail,1 which features one of the most arresting dance scenes—maybe one of the greatest endings?—in any movie. The retrospective is on until November 10, so there’s still time to catch White Material, L’intrus, and a few others on the big screen.
I love you, Denis Lavant. ↩