Sex and violence in the desert
- The sex and violence in 29 palms give a sense of America, in the new film by Bruno Dumont, where the two protagonists roam through the vast spaces of the Joshua Tree Desert on the trail of self-enlightenment
Bruno Dumont headed for the Californian desert with the aim of mixing typical American cinema with a more conspicuously European culture. And in his third feature length film, 29 Palms [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in competition in Venice, the French director has provided a contrast to the smaller spaces in Europe by showing the vast countryside of the Joshua Tree desert. His two protagonists lose themselves in this huge tract of land in an attempt at self-discovery, in the face of the infinite natural backdrop that stretches out before them.
In reality, the love story told by Dumont is a lot like the desert in which it is set, hostile, dangerous and harshly indifferent. “I wanted to build the whole film around the feeling of fear that man can now only experience when faced with the huge expanse of nature. In the end, the rest of the film is very simple because it’s about the daily life of the protagonists”.
The whole plot is shown from a completely neutral point of view: the director let’s all the events happen in front of the camera, in a continual research of the two lovers’ intimacy. “I don’t construct my films in a rational way, I mainly work using my basic instincts, digging deep inside myself, something which I then do with the actors, trusting in them to bring out the inner essence of the characters”.
In his portrayal of that silent and infinite desert, Dumont doesn’t miss the opportunity to evoke the image of American cinema, using the chance to quote from classics like Deliverance or Duel. “I played with the whole gamut of images we have in our heads thanks to films made in the USA, and this is the reason the story ends up like a horror film”.
A love story where violence and passion becoming increasingly intertwined, leading the way to the final tragedy.
29 Palms is produced by France and Germany in collaboration with Canal+ and the American company, Wellspring, and it will be released in French theatres from September 17.
(Translated from Italian)
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