MovieChat Forums > Le sang des bêtes Discussion > Beautiful film

Beautiful film

posted 19 years ago by moscamuerta
16 replies | jump to latest

I would like to share my views on this beautiful but rather disturbing film with other viewers. I had heard of it in some books before I actually had the chance to see it in double bill with Cocteau's "La belle et la bête") at the Meltdown Festival in London. The film is only about 20 minutes long, but by the end of it, less than a third of the audience remained in the cinema. Some weeks ago I was surprised it was actually availabe to download from the internet and obviously I got it, for it's not actually such an easy film to get ur hands into.

It is really hard to stomach the scenes filmed at the abattoirs in paris at the end of the 40's. But it is done with such a sense of visual poetry that it is impossible not to find something beautiful in this film.

Has anyone else seen this film and would like to share their POV?

[–] Bitter_Almonds 18 years ago

It was not filmed, narrated, or scored to sensationalise the slaughter of the animals, so after some minutes the shock dissipates and I felt compelled to keep watching. Throughout the film I kept thinking these are the methods still employed for preparing animals; they haven't changed much after 50-something years. There are a few scenes later on that would make people grimmace because like Franju says, the real horror comes from every day/natural/normal events that we are not accustomed to seeing, or fully understand. The one scene that hasn't left my mind is the one where they're slaughtering the sheep. Their torsos kept wriggling! We know these animals are dead, incapable of feeling pain (heads are lopped off), etc., but THE TORSOS KEPT MOVING!

All in all, though, I think this film offers respect not only to those responsible for the grim task of preparing food, but to the animals as well by not resorting to cheap tactics of sermonising.

Do The Mussolini! Headkick!

[–] bring_back_Pluto 18 years ago

i saw it today with a room full of people -- by the end there were only four people left (including the projectionist) ------ but for people to get offended by this seems a little odd --- if they consume meat, where the hell do they think it comes from?? grows on trees?? it's by no means pleasant, but for from "shocking" -- this is where meat comes from!! especially in this day and age when videos of this happening to PEOPLE are shown on the nightly news ------ these animals were killed to be eaten... we, as humans, happen to be omnivorous -- so killing and eating animals is as natural as anything ------ i didn't care too much for the calves being killed ---- but then again i'm eating a pepperoni pizza as i type this so i'm not utterly offended --------- it's a slaughterhouse, for christs sake --- it's not SUPPOSED to be pretty -----------

[–] edoneii 18 years ago

That's why there are vegetarians. :)

[–] louislippsjr 14 years ago

A friend of mine travels the world and has some awesome stuff on film. Check out this "festival" he happened upon during his travels...

http://www.travelyourassoff.com/2009/11/our-goddess-has-given-everything.html

[–] dcbjms1988 17 years ago

I agree. Since Paris was recovering from WW2, one of the backstories for the film WAS a commentary on the Holocaust, especially in terms of the concentration camps. The methods used in the film were just as horrifying as do the old newsreels that came out after V-E Day regarding the concentration camps, called names like "murder machines" and "factories of death". This is also the same with the slaughterhouses. Apparently, there was controversy surrounding this film because it was TOO real - I would know why.

[–] noelmepham 17 years ago

Finally! dcbjms1988 - Someone who recognises the symbolic metaphor of the abattoir as representing the Nazi extermination camps and the de-humanisation of not simply the victims, but also that of the ritual detachment of those employed in the industrial slaughter - all of course juxtaposed with the "cultured" society of Paris that here represents any "civilised" society that goes about its business with eyes blinkered to the horrors occuring within their culture. Was Franju making a comment on this and the French collaboration of the Vichy government per chance?

[–] !!!deleted!!! (5034693) 17 years ago

This film appeals to me as a part of the horror genre, but in reality, it's a documentary that only portrays horror. It's incredibly graphic, but it presents gore not for the sake of showing it. The point of its graphic nature is to reveal to us the secret, dark underbelly of a civilization. It also shows us that violence and peace can co-exist in the same world, as long as the violence is controlled.

I wonder about viewers that insist that this film gets a colorized treatment. It's perfect the way it is. Seeing red blood all over the butcherhouse would have been too much. To view the blood and internal organs of the animals in grayscale gives the film a somewhat visceral quality to it.

Le Sang des bêtes is very bold film. It would be difficult to make this film with today's persistent animal activist groups.

Rating - 4/4

[–] J. Spurlin 17 years ago

I would think that animal activists would champion the screening of this film. It would surely create a few more vegetarians.

... Justin

[–] CounterPaul 14 years ago

Glad I already was veg for decades prior to viewing this. Harrowing, yes, but did not flinch away.

"As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields" - Tolstoy

... trouble is, we're too far gone to care~

"POWER TO THE PEOPLE WHO PUNISH BAD CINEMA!!!"

[–] say_whut 13 years ago

you're acting as if people eating meat is a new thing. we've kinda been doing this since the beginning of human history, and it's not like we're magically more "civilized" now or anything. for that matter we as a species have treated our fellow humans much much worse than anything portrayed in this documentary.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] nocomputer1962 15 years ago

I saw this film, which I had previously never heard of, about 20 years ago. It was "sneaked" onto the end of a free public showing of The Passion of Joan of Arc by an apparently whimsical projectionist. As with two previous posters on this thread, the audience head count at my showing dropped from about 40 to about five by the time the 20-minute documentary was over. After it was over, I asked the other surviving viewers if they wanted to go out for a cheeseburger. Their response was a real "chirping crickets" moment.

[–] ilpohirvonen 15 years ago

Good to see here is some discussion about this movie, I just noticed that this is going on an old movie theatre near me, and Im bit curious to check it out.

And yea I think that animal activists wouldn't have anything against about screening this film, it's good to show people the reality of meat production, I'm a vegan myself, and not sure can I handle this movie, but I am very interested in cinema history, so it might be that I'll give this a shot.

"I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle"

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] veeeliko 13 years ago

How this compares to Earthlings? Whoever has seen both movies please respond.