The Beast

While it's true that the pace is too slow and there are so many metaphors that at times they seem contrived, the film is so beutifully done that it all pays out in the end. [spoiler]The pace is slow so that the audicence gets the feeling this is a love story that has been dragged out for years (a faster pace would have spoiled it; even make it impossible). The metaphors have to be contrived as it punctuates how easy it is to overlook the warning signs, how muddled they are when you are caught up in your emotions, only making sense in retrospective. The final scene (the howling) is exquisite, it captures the whole theme of the film: the inevitable and self-fulfilling awful pain of heartbreak.[/spoiler]

P.S. Léa Seydoux is amazing, can't believe I hadn't watched her until now.

I hadn’t felt so deliciously manipulated since I watched Haneke’s Funny Games. This film stayed with me long after the credits… rolled (?)

Experimental but beautiful. I loved the dolls of each period: from inanimate, to animate, to human-like companions.

>"Come here. Don't be scared. There must be beautiful things in this chaos. Don't be scared...
You're here."

Heartbreaking.

Echoes of past lives barely remembered, rippling through time.

Lea Seydoux might actually be the most beautiful human alive.

>"When love is evergreen, evergreen..."

While I can appreciate its intentions, I found myself rather indifferent to this film. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but it felt like it lacked that evocative spark in its scene composition and cinematography. At times it’s also a bit too slow and overly redundant… the whole incel arc was pretty clear from the first vlog—we didn’t need it hammered in a billion more times. That said, the final batch of sequences is definitely the most compelling and visually engaging.

Halfway through; I feel like I've seen everything before in this multi era sci-fi dystopia existential ponderings romance costume drama, though possibly never this stylish. This is like one of those high end fashion brand shorts that are deep if you live in a lifestyle magazine. Except long and slow because long is refined and slow is artistic.

Shortly after; Is this [spoiler]the monologue by that incel dude that killed a lot of people[/spoiler]? Will it go somewhere interesting? Maybe there is a reason that cineast people hype it after all.

Nah, not really. Another stylish environment and a dip into the edgy with some TRVE POSTMODERN reference dropping that devolves into media art and then of course we're back into the Alphaville Matrix for the finale.

I wish there was as much energy put into substance and maybe some originality as there was in scenography and repetitive foreshadowing. But really, there wasn't. I think my original association to fashion mags holds up. The print is colourful and the finish is glossy but the text is recycled fluff and despite the thickness of the magazine the paper is still thin as could be.

Hmm. Persistently confronted with boredom.

The premise of the movie is interesting and different, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The long dialogues fail to hold the attention, and the lack of convincing chemistry between the protagonists weakens the emotional connection with the story. The transitions between different eras are not well explored, giving the impression that only the costumes change, while the setting and customs remain practically unchanged. Everything seems excessively compact, without the necessary breadth to develop what the film sets out to convey. The result is a work that sounds pretentious, with a slow and monotonous pace, making it longer than it should be.

The best idea are the qr credits. Love it!