Newslanes Media
Netflix has released this Friday August 6 a new French horror movie The Swarm(La nuee(). This is Just Philippot’s impressive debut feature. Based on a script written by Frank Victor and Jerome Genevray, it tells the story of blood-sucking locusts that cause havoc in the lives of a rural French farmer.
The Swarm is a story about Virginie (Suliane Brahim), who is a single mom of Gaston (Raphael Romand), and Laura (Marie Narbonne). Virginie raises edible grasshoppers but her farm is in danger of going bankrupt. She soon finds an unusual way to provide food for her locusts, which could have dire consequences.
The Swarm blends many genres into one slow-paced movie. This movie is both a social drama and a horror. It is filled with tension about one mother’s struggle to provide for her children. The film is more than its title and premise suggest.
Virginie, a widower recently started raising locusts for food. She grinds them to make a high-protein flour. She tells a neighbor friend that it’s healthier for the environment. However, her production of locusts is declining. They aren’t reproducing. The worst part is that the product she produces doesn’t sell for fair prices.
It seems that everything is against her. The electricity keeps going out. It is difficult to get hot water. She borrows money each month from Karim, who is a friendly local winegrower, to survive. Virginie’s teenage anxiety, which is exacerbated at school by some mockery, weighs heavily on Laura. Virginie, out of desperation and knocked unconscious, smashes everything to pieces, leaving her with an open wound on her left arm. Her blood is being drank by the locusts, who are constantly grazing her arm. Because they are thirsty for blood, she decides to use it for her benefit. It helps the crop grow. She can’t get blood from pigs anymore so her only recourse is to allow the locusts her blood.
This is a clear analogy about how farmers are exploited for their own survival and profit. Its premise, a horrific tale about a deadly swarm locusts, conceals a deeper understanding of our society.
NETFLIX
The film’s social drama is what really makes it stand out. The film has some wonderful scenes with Virginie and Gaston. This is especially evident in their little moments of teasing one another. Particularly interesting is Laura, whose frustrations are clearly visible. Instead of being the typical annoying teenage girl, Philippot has created an interesting character with the help of script writers. Marie Narbonne’s excellent performance enhances this complex character.
Suliane Brahim is a great actor who also appeared in Black Spot (Zone Blanche), a French drama that was popular on Netflix. Brahim portrays Virginie’s sense of total desperation and her obsession with expanding it once she discovers the bugs’ desire for blood.
The Swarm, a wonderful film, cleverly combines cinematic genres. It’s part horror, part social drama and builds up tension to the final scene that gives the film its name.
It was chosen for Cannes 2020 Critics Week. The film won Best Actress at Sitges Film Festival 2020. In 2020 it was awarded the Special Jury Prize. Netflix acquired Wild Bunch International for distribution in all countries except France, Spain, China and France. The Swarm is a production of Capricci Films, and Jokers Films.
Publited Sat, 07 August 2021 at 17:23.03 +0000