The Beast in the Jungle (film)

The Beast in the Jungle
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa Bête dans la jungle
Directed byPatric Chiha
Screenplay by
  • Patric Chiha
  • Axelle Ropert
  • Jihane Chouaib
Based onThe Beast in the Jungle
by Henry James
Produced by
  • Charlotte Vincent
  • Katia Khazak
  • Ebba Sinzinger
  • Vincent Lucassen
Starring
CinematographyCéline Bozon
Edited by
  • Karina Ressler
  • Julien Lacheray
Music by
  • Yelli Yelli
  • Dino Spiluttini
  • Florent Charissoux
Production
companies
  • Aurora Films
  • Frakas Productions
  • Wildart Film
Distributed by
Release dates
Running time
103 min[3]
Countries
LanguageFrench[4]
Budget€3 million[5]
Box office$54,756[6]

The Beast in the Jungle (French: La Bête dans la jungle) is a 2023 drama film directed by Patric Chiha, from a screenplay by Chiha, Axelle Ropert and Jihane Chouaib, freely adapted from the 1903 novella of the same name by Henry James, and starring Anaïs Demoustier, Tom Mercier and Béatrice Dalle. The film is a co-production between France, Belgium and Austria. It made its world premiere in competition in the Panorama section of the 73rd Berlin Film Festival on 17 February 2023,[3][7] and was released theatrically in France by Les Films du Losange on 16 August 2023.[4]

Plot

For 25 years, from 1979 to 2004, a man and a woman wait together for a mysterious event in a big nightclub.

Cast

Production

Development

In July 2017, it was announced that director Patric Chiha was writing the screenplay for his next film, The Beast in the Jungle, freely adapted from the 1903 novella of the same name by American-British author Henry James.[8] On 15 April 2019, British magazine Screen Daily reported that French actor Gaspard Ulliel had signed on to play the protagonist of the film alongside Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps as the female lead.[9] The film was originally scheduled to start shooting in Winter 2019 for a 2020 release.[9] Chiha described this film as a "love story" and a "tale of an obsession".[10]

On 24 November 2021, Cineuropa reported that French actress Anaïs Demoustier, Israeli actor Tom Mercier and French actress Béatrice Dalle had been cast for the main roles and that filming would begin on 29 November 2021 in Brussels.[11]

The Beast in the Jungle reunites director Patric Chiha with producer Charlotte Vincent of Paris-based company Aurora Films, who produced his two previous feature films, Domain (2009), and Boys Like Us (2014).[9] Les Films du Losange handled the international pre-sales for the film at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, and also took the French distribution rights.[9] The film is a co-production between France's Aurora Films,[4] along with Belgium's Frakas Productions and Austria's WILDart Film.[12] The production is 42.49% French,[4] 39.27% Belgian,[4] and 18.24% Austrian,[4] and it had the support of the CNC, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, ÖFI (Austrian Film Institute), BeTV, Proximus, RTBF, Screen Brussels, Cinémage, Arte/Cofinova, development aid from the CNC, MEDIA and Procirep.[12][13]

Filming

Filming took place in Vienna, Austria, and in Brussels, Bruxelles-Ville, and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in Belgium between 11 November 2021 and 14 January 2022.[2][14][13] The club Mirano in Brussels served as the set for the nightclub featured in the film.[13][15]

Release

The film made its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 73rd Berlin Film Festival on 17 February 2023.[3][10] It was released theatrically in France on 16 August 2023 by Les Films du Losange,[4] and in Belgium by O'Brother.[2]

Awards and nominations

Year Award / Festival Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2023 73rd Berlin Film Festival Panorama Audience Award for Best Feature Film Patric Chiha Nominated [10]
Teddy Award - Best LGBT Feature Film Nominated [16]
Diagonale Festival of Austrian Film Best Costume Design Claire Dubien Won [17]
Prix Louis-Delluc Best Film Patric Chiha Nominated [18]
2024 Magritte Awards Most Promising Actress Mara Taquin Nominated [19]

See also

  • The Beast (2023), another film based on the Henry James novella

References

  1. ^ "La Bête dans la jungle". Les Films du Losange (in French). Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "The Beast in the Jungle, Feature Film, 2021-2023". Crew United. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Berlinale | Programme - La Bête dans la jungle | The Beast in the Jungle". Berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Beast in the Jungle de Patric Chiha (2023)". UniFrance. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  5. ^ Abouchahla, Pierre (24 February 2020). "Patric Chiha réalisera "La Bête dans la Jungle"". Ecran Total (in French). Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  6. ^ "The Beast in the Jungle". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  7. ^ Roxborough, Scott (18 January 2023). "Berlin Completes Panorama Lineup With New Films With George MacKay, Sandra Huller and Joan Baez". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  8. ^ Corte, Antoine (4 April 2017). "[INTERVIEW] Patric Chiha, réalisateur de " Brothers of the Night "". Bulles de Culture (in French). Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Goodfellow, Melanie (15 April 2019). "Vicky Krieps, Gaspard Ulliel to star in Patric Chiha's 'The Beast In The Jungle'; Losange boards sales (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b c Goodfellow, Melanie (18 January 2023). "'The Beast In The Jungle' Clip: Berlinale Henry James Adaptation Stars Anaïs Demoustier, Tom Mercier & Béatrice Dalle". Deadline. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  11. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (24 November 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Anaïs Demoustier and Tom Mercier will topline The Beast In The Jungle". Cineuropa.
  12. ^ a b "La Bête dans la jungle". Aurora Films. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "La Bête dans la jungle". Screen Brussels (in French). 13 October 2021. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Casting figurants pour le tournage du film "La bête dans la jungle", à Bruxelles, réalisé par Patric Chiha avec Anaïs Demoustier, Tom Mercier et Béatrice Dalle". CastProd (in French). Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  15. ^ FraKas Productions (4 November 2021). "CASTING | Pour le prochain film de Patric Chiha - LA BÊTE DANS LA JUNGLE". Facebook (in French). Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Teddy Award - Press Kit 2023" (PDF). Teddy Award. p. 7. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  17. ^ Gottlieb, Susanne (29 March 2023). "Awards darling Vera strikes again at the Diagonale". Cineuropa.
  18. ^ Lavallée, Eric (24 November 2023). "Prix Louis-Delluc: Justine Triet, Catherine Breillat & Thomas Cailley Among 9 Noms". Ioncinema.
  19. ^ "Nominations aux Magritte : un record pour le long-métrage 'Augure' de Baloji" (in French). RTBF. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.