In Bruno Dumont's 'La vie de Jésus', we are given a portrait of Freddy, a twenty year old epileptic, and his lifeless existence.
This film successfully manages to lull the viewer into the same anaemic and insipid 'ennui' that Freddy, the central protagonist, finds himself. In the reliance upon a monotonal landscape to produce the only reflection of the character's being, this film is as one-dimensional as the characters themselves. We see countless, seeemingly never-ending, shots of Freddy weaving his way through, and into the countryside on his scooter. We see him march through the countryside with an army band. We see Freddy repeat recordings of bird song to is budgie, then cross off the number of calls in a competition. We see the TV in the deserted local café as the only form of diversion. We are given a graphic depiction of Freddy having sex in an open field with his girlfriend. Freddy is depicted as a mere animal, who will later prey upon an arab who tries to pursue his prised girlfriend's affection.
Ultimately this film fails to make an impact, as it only succeeds in doing one thing; demonstrate how man can be nothing but beast.
This film successfully manages to lull the viewer into the same anaemic and insipid 'ennui' that Freddy, the central protagonist, finds himself. In the reliance upon a monotonal landscape to produce the only reflection of the character's being, this film is as one-dimensional as the characters themselves. We see countless, seeemingly never-ending, shots of Freddy weaving his way through, and into the countryside on his scooter. We see him march through the countryside with an army band. We see Freddy repeat recordings of bird song to is budgie, then cross off the number of calls in a competition. We see the TV in the deserted local café as the only form of diversion. We are given a graphic depiction of Freddy having sex in an open field with his girlfriend. Freddy is depicted as a mere animal, who will later prey upon an arab who tries to pursue his prised girlfriend's affection.
Ultimately this film fails to make an impact, as it only succeeds in doing one thing; demonstrate how man can be nothing but beast.