I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A slow paced film, a simple plot and an unsatisfying ending for what is ultimately a 'seen it all before' revenge story. The ingredients for a film tailor made for me to hate.But somehow it worked. Yes, there's not much to it, more atmosphere than story, but it gripped me throughout.An indication of how much I'm enjoying a film is the first time I check how long is left. I didn't do that at all during Les Salauds.It's terribly dark and downbeat, and don't imagine things will turn out how you might expect or want them to. But if you're OK with that, and have some patience, this is worth seeking out.

A man lies dead, a young woman walks the streets at night, dazed and naked. The opening scene of Claire Denis' new film 'Bastards' shows fragments of something terrible thats taken place, but we don't know what. The young womans name is Justine (Lola Créton), her mother Sandra (Julie Bataille) learns of her tragedy and the dead man who is her husband and Justine's father.Sandra seems to have given up hope, or simply doesn't care. Its not until Sandra's brother Marco (Vincent Lindon) is called to return from his job as a captain of a ship, that things start to unravel. Marco seems to be the only one compelled to find out what happened to Justine and her father, who was Marco's best friend. Sandra is of little help, Marco doesn't quite trust her, and maybe never had. She tells him who she thinks is responsible, Marco drops everything to piece back together a disturbing picture of family life.'Bastards' is a moody, slow-burning noir with a surprising series of events that will leave a mark on you. Marco's affair with Raphaelle (Chiara Mastroianni) provides the film with its emotional heart. But everyone is numb and lonely, seemingly unable to express themselves, or simply afraid to. 'Bastards' uses a strange emotional state, darkness pervades in everyone who are all closely shot but you still can't get close to them. Somethings holding them all back, and the protagonists of the crimes do not need to lift a finger.'Bastards' isn't a bleak film, there's still enough tenderness and thoughtfulness in the characters to imbue the film with a humane presence. It still keeps you at a distance, the ending is a shocking conclusion to a fine film, perfectly pivoted by a wonderful song from the Tindersticks. You may not like the ending, but i think this was the point from Denis, in what is her finest film yet.

I realised after watching Bastards that I am a Claire Denis fan. I appreciate her entire body of work and I knew early on she was one of my favourite directors. Each film she has made has moved me and stayed with me.I like her way of filming a story. She never spells the story out for us, none of the characters come out and tell us how they are feeling; instead we have to find our own way into their worlds with visual clues. It is for us to see and follow, to be active in our observations. Somehow Claire Denis manages to reveal things to us in a soft, unassuming way, which then affects us when we read the intense and often deeply buried emotion that spills out.For the making of Bastards, Claire Denis has returned to her team of long-time collaborators, including cinematographer Agnès Godard, indie band Tindersticks for their atmospheric soundtrack, and actors like Vincent Lindon, Gregoire Colin and Michel Subor.With Bastards, Chiara Mastroianni (Beloved) joins this entourage, as does Lola Créton (Goodbye First Love, Something in the Air). While Mastroianni gives her best performance on screen, Créton reveals a lot of herself without ever actually saying more than a few words.Viewers that have not seen any of her previous films may find it harder to appreciate the qualities and intensity of the movie. We are quickly drowning in a story where nearly every character is not likable - here the title Bastards feels very apt.It's a dark and raw film. It has the shadowy mystery of The Intruder, the emotional disturbance of Trouble Every Day, and the intimacy of Vendredi Soir. It's a sordid and brutal revenge drama, but it's also a true modern film noir. Enigmatic and detailed, with dark textures. Sharing with us the fragile and troubled human condition, the characters' bodies are explored in close up, the texture of the skin, the marks and blemishes staring back at us.But, ultimately, what Denis nails every time is the mood. The unseen, unheard mood. The impression we are left with, the vibrations of human energy. This is the real mark of a Claire Denis film.

French author, screenwriter, film professor and director Claire Denis' twelfth feature film which she co-wrote with French screenwriter Jean-Pol Fargeau, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival in 2013, was screened in the Masters section at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in 2013, was shot on locations in France and is a France-Germany co-production which was produced by producers Vincent Maraval, Olivier Théry-Lapiney and Laurence Clerc. It tells the story about a former naval officer named Marco Silvestri whom after learning that something has happened to his friend named Jacques, leaves his job to support his sister named Sandra, then learns that her daughter named Justine has been hospitalized and begins studying a woman named Raphäelle who lives with her son named Joseph and her husband named Edouardo. Distinctly and masterfully directed by French filmmaker Claire Denis, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints, draws a multifaceted portrayal of a French father, brother and captain on a ship whom whilst looking for his niece acquaints a married mother whose main concern in life besides the well-being of her son, is that no one else has a more fulfilling life than hers. While notable for its distinct and atmospheric milieu depictions, reverent and crucial cinematography by cinematographer Agnès Godard, production design by production designer Michel Barthélémy and use of sound, colors and light, this character-driven and narrative-driven story about atrocious and dehumanizing crimes against youths and children which illustrates how positively audacious cinema can be when executed by a filmmaker with an immaculate cinematic language and where a middle-aged man initiates an unscrupulous romance with a stranger whilst a daughter is dancing with death, depicts several dense and mysterious studies of character and contains a great and timely score by English composer Stuart A. Staples.This increasingly dramatic, perspicacious and romantic master-act in audio-visual proficiency which is set in the capital city of France in the 21st century and where a man's hazardous search for a disappeared close relative leads him on an unrighteous path where barbarianism governs, is impelled and reinforced by its densely fragmented narrative structure, subtle character development, rhythmic continuity, efficient film editing, distinct humane undertones and style of filmmaking, eloquent use of music, appropriate title which is a social comment in itself, breath-taking last scene, telling comment by Raphäelle : "What's so great about your life?", the poignant acting performances by French actor Vincent Lindon and French-Italian actress and singer Chiara Mastroianni and the good acting performances by French actress Julie Bataille and French actor Michel Subor. An austerely emphatic, astonishingly envisaged and obscurely atmospheric narrative feature.