The Beast

A free adaptation of Henry James' novella "The Beast in the Jungle" (the original film title is "The Beast," while the Russian version is titled "Premonition") about a man paralyzed by a neurotic belief that something terrible is about to happen to him.

Bertrand Bonello, the director: "In the year 2044, when artificial intelligence solves many of humanity's problems, the heroine Léa Seydoux, Gabriel, faces a choice between an interesting job that requires a special operation to cleanse the mind of feelings and emotions, and preserving full memory (and love). She decides to rid herself of her feelings.

I wanted echoes of past catastrophes to directly affect our time, including our relationship with emotions. [...] Despite the film covering three different eras, our fears and relationships have hardly changed. We still fear love, we don't trust each other, we fear being hurt, losing support, and being left alone. This fear permeates the entire history of humanity. Perhaps my film spans three periods, but it tells a single universal story."