Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: Bruno Dumont’s L’empire

#25. L’empire

Director/Writer: Bruno Dumont
Producers: Rachid Bouchareb, Jean Bréhat, Alexander Emmert and Muriel Merlin
Distributor: Rights Available.

The Gist: This is about a strange character who leads a secluded life in the Pas de Calais dunes where the demon roams. Near a hamlet, river and marshes, dwells a strange fellow who lives from hand to mouth, poaches, prays, and lights fires. He is close to a farmer’s daughter who looks after him and feeds him. By murdering the girl’s father, who is violent towards her, helping a kid who is seized by strange pains and killing a guard, this fellow drives evil away from the hamlet and its inhabitants, in a fight against the Devil, until a miracle occurs.….(more)

Cast: David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre

List Worthy Reasons…: We are getting into the final batch of films on this 100 list where I feel less compelled to list the reasons of why these projects from deeply admired auteurs would find themselves in the top positions. I think at a point in his filmography [five pictures in with The Life of Jesus (1997), Humanity (1999), Twentynine Palms (2003), Flanders (2006), Hadewijch (2009)] any film studies prof could dedicate a semester to the deconstructing the works of filmmaker/philosopher Bruno Dumont. His sixth pic appears to be the polar opposite of his 2009 picture about one’s submission to religion and we should expect to see common Dumont traits of violence and seclusion in natural surroundings appear to impregnate his discourse once again.

Release Date/Status?: Cannes for sure. Followed by fall film festival season, a possible showing at TIFF. Should painstakingly take its time to get into theaters.