Rust and Bone (Audiard, 2012)
On this day in 2013, I posted a review for the great French drama Rust and Bone which lost out to Haneke’s Amour for the 2012 Palme d’Or. That’s an illustration of how long films took to get a local release in those days…
Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard is the big name on the marquee but the film really belongs to Matthias Schoenaerts who lays down a portrait of wounded masculinity as riveting as any of De Niro’s classic performances. He’s Alain, a drifter and waster who lands in picturesque Antibes with his young son. He’s useful in a scrap but useless as a parent and some of the most difficult scenes in the film are of him failing to look after the boy.
Working security doesn’t really pay the bills – topped-up by bareknuckle boxing – but it does introduce him to Cotillard, a trainer of killer whales at the local marine park. When she suffers a horrendous accident and withdraws into lonely self-pity these two wounded and stubborn characters find a way to connect that may surprise you. I’m a sucker for films about redemption and you may be surprised to find out – after watching the couple of hours – that redemption is what’s on the menu here.
You can argue about the ending. I feel that the film would be borderline unwatchable without it but I’ve spoken to others who feel that it’s a cop out. All I can say is that you should go along and see if these unlikely characters can ingratiate themselves into your hearts they way they finally managed to get into mine.
Also reviewed in that Capital Times column: A Lady in Paris starring Jeanne Moreau in her 140th film role and the Lord of the Rings-inspired adaptation of Jack the Giant Slayer (“Kids who can handle the fact that there’s a lot of unmourned death will enjoy Jack the Giant Slayer. Younger ones, not so much.”)
Where to watch xxxx
Aotearoa: Digital rental from Apple
Australia: Digital rental from Apple, Google, YouTube or Fetch
Canada: Streaming on Prime Video
USA: Digital rental from Apple, Amazon, Google, YouTube or Vudu
UK: Streaming on StudioCanal
Further reading
Brollie is a new Australia-based streaming service which is also available in New Zealand and notable for offering their titles at no charge (so far).
It’s based on the catalogue of the boutique distributor Umbrella Entertainment and I sampled some of their wares for RNZ.
Editor’s note
We are fast approaching the Easter break in New Zealand (actually, let’s be honest, everywhere) which means that there will be no updates from Funerals & Snakes on Good Friday or Easter Monday.
Therefore this week’s new releases (including Godzilla x Kong and Io Capitano) will be covered next Friday.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
