Department of Romance Studies

7 pm, Wasserman Cinematheque

Presented by film critic A. S. Hamrah 

Directed by Bertrand Bonello (France/Canada, 2023, 146 min.). French with English subtitles.

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely “erase” their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent “retribution.” Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates?

Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello ("Saint Laurent," "Nocturama") fashions his most accomplished film to date: a sci-fi epic, inspired by Henry James' 1903 novella, "The Beast in the Jungle," suffused with mounting dread and a haunting sense of mystery. Punctuated by a career-defining, three-role performance by Seydoux, "The Beast" poignantly conveys humanity’s struggle against dissociative identity and emotionless existence.

“An audacious interdimensional romance, techno-thriller and Los Angeles noir rolled up in one.” – The New York Times

Speaker bio: A. S. Hamrah is the author of "The Earth Dies Streaming: Film Writing, 2002-2018" (n+1 Books). He is the film critic for n+1 and writes for a number of other publications, including Harper’s, Bookforum, The Nation, The New York Review of Books, and the Criterion Collection. A documentary feature film he produced, "Bunker," directed by Jenny Perlin, was the opening night selection at the Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight festival in 2022.

7 pm, Wasserman Cinematheque

Presented by Professor Alain Lempereur.

Directed by Raoul Peck (The Democratic Republic of Congo, 1991, 69 min.) French and English with English subtitles.

Legendary Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary about James Baldwin, "I Am Not Your Negro," investigates the revolutionary Patrice Lumumba's brief tenure as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the machinations behind his shocking assassination. At the age of eight, Peck was brought by his family to the newly independent DRC, where his father worked for the United Nations as an agricultural professor and his mother served as secretary to the mayor of Kinshasa. Sifting through his childhood recollections and interviewing Belgian journalists and politicians who witnessed the country's descent into internecine violence, Peck fashions a prismatic meditation on the elusiveness of political objectivity and the ethics of personal remembrance in chronicling the traumas of history.

Speaker bio: Alain LEMPEREUR promotes responsible negotiation, mediation and leadership as the Alan B. Slifka Chair Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Heller School for Social Policy, Brandeis University. He is also an affiliated faculty and executive committee member of the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School, and, during his sabbatical, the EUI Chair in Leadership and Negotiation. As a mediator or a trainer, he facilitated collaborative leadership in the Near East (Our Generation Speaks, Negotiation Strategies Institute, Forward Thinking) and, previously, in the African Great Lake region (Burundi Leadership Training Program, Initiative for a Cohesive Leadership in the DR Congo). He also supports the UN Global Executive Leadership Initiative for senior humanitarians (Red Cross, UNICEF, WFP, MSF, etc.). He has published two dozen books, namely The First Move. A Negotiator’s Companion and recently, Mediation. Negotiation by Other Moves, and an essay in French on the power of mediation against civil war in Burundi and Congo

7 pm, Wasserman Cinematheque

Presented by Professor Emilie Diouf, Department of English 

Directed by Alain Kassanda (France, 2022, 89 min.) Lingala and French with English subtitles.

Q&A with director Alain Kassanda on Thursday, November 7, at 1:30 

Born in Kinshasa and living in Paris, filmmaker Alain Kassanda embodies the classic immigrant dual identity: In the Democratic Republic of Congo he is seen as French, while in France he is seen as Congolese. Determined to understand the colonial legacy from which he comes, Kassanda convinces his grandparents—Colette and Justin—to sit for a series of interviews. Together, they watch old news footage, remember a visit from the Belgian king, and recall what life was like as part of the nascent Black bourgeoisie who served the colonial administration. Kassanda uses a wealth of black-and-white archival footage to tell the story, superimposing his own thoughts and his grandparents’ voices over the visuals—in effect, using the colonizers’ images against them. The film begins with one man’s search to understand himself and his roots. But ultimately it is an evocative, poetic and thoughtful meditation on the intersection of political and family history, and the multigenerational destructive reach of colonialism.

“[A] crucial recovery of long-suppressed history.” —Documentary Magazine

Speaker bio: Alain Kassanda is a Congolese French filmmaker, film director and cinematographer, and founder of Ajímatí Films. He is known for his highly acclaimed documentary films "Trouble Sleep," "Colette & Justin," and "Coconut Head Generation,", which was selected for the New Directors/New Films Festival at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art.

7 pm, Wasserman Cinematheque

Directed by Louis Garrel (France, 2022, 100 min.) French with English subtitles

Part crime thriller, part family farce, Louis Garrel’s “The Innocent” shows with panache and pathos the dangerous lengths two men go, and the outlandish lies they tell, for the women they love. Garrel stars as Abel, a museum educator and widower whose mother, Sylvie, marries Michel, one of her drama pupils in the local penitentiary. Once on parole Michel attempts to start a legitimate life for Sylvie’s sake but soon reverts to his old ways, with the suspicious Abel continually—and ineptly—spying on his stepfather until roped into one of the ex-con’s schemes. Complicating matters is Clémence (Noémie Merlant), the brazen coworker who convinces Abel to break out of his emotional and romantic shell by taking part in Michel’s planned heist. Directing from his own screenplay (as co-written by Tanguy Viel and Naïla Guiguet), Garrel explores the comedic results of playacting’s intrusion into real life, as well as real life’s comedic tendency to transform us into what we never thought we could be, but perhaps always were.

7 pm, Wasserman Cinematheque

Presented by Professor Hollie Harder and Professor Michael Randall, Department of Romance Studies

Directed by Cédric Kahn (France, 2023, 115 min.). French with English subtitles.

In 1975, Pierre Goldman, a fiery and controversial figure of revolutionary left-wing activism, was put on trial in France. Accused of multiple crimes including two murders, Goldman proclaims his innocence. Twenty years before the O.J. Simpson case, the Goldman trial reflects the political, ideological and racial tensions that marked the 1970s in France and Europe. Considered to be the trial of the century, it divided an entire country and widened the gap between the conservative right and left-wing intellectuals.

"A stark, gripping courtroom drama."—The Hollywood Reporter

7 pm, Wasserman Cinematheque

Presented by Professor Loïc Lerme, Department of Romance Studies

Directed by Thomas Cailley (France and Belgium, 2023, 128 min.). French with English subtitles.

This visionary thriller drops viewers into a world where mutations in human genetics cause people to transform into hybrid creatures. François (Romain Duris) does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by the mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Émile, his 16-year-old son, on a quest to find his wife with help from a local police officer (Adèle Exarchopoulos). The Animal Kingdom had its world premiere on opening night of the Cannes Film Festival and was later nominated for 12 César Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor, taking home five, including Best Cinematography.  

“A thought-provoking parable on society’s instinctive reaction to the unfamiliar.” —Cinemachords

From the Brandeis main entrance, take the Loop Road to the left, following signs to Lower Campus. At the first stop sign, take a left, following signs to the International Business School. Travel down the driveway into a large parking lot behind the Spingold Theater. Park at the far end of the lot.

Walk up the sidewalk, following signs to the International Business School / Sachar International Center / Lemberg Center. For passenger drop off, please use the circular driveway at the entrance to the Sachar International Center.

For more information, consult the Brandeis interactive campus map.

MBTA Commuter Rail
The Fitchburg Line stops at the Brandeis/Roberts station, a five-minute walk from the center of campus.