Still from The Beast (2024), by Bertrand Bonello.
Still from The Beast (2024), by Bertrand Bonello.
The Beast (La bête)
7:00 pm–9:30 pm
Directed by Bertrand Bonello (France/Canada, 2023, 146 min.). French with English subtitles.
In the year 2044, artificial intelligence controls all facets of society. Humans are encouraged by their AI rulers to routinely cleanse themselves of emotion by undergoing a procedure that enables them to reexperience their past lives, eradicating residual trauma incurred during them. Submitting to this procedure, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) finds herself falling in love with the same man (George MacKay) in each of her previous incarnations; first in Belle Époque–era Paris, then in 2014 Los Angeles. Resisting the procedure’s effects, Gabrielle finds herself in a race against time to connect with her love in the present before he falls prey to the lure of an emotionless existence.
Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello (Saint Laurent; Nocturama) fashions his most accomplished film to date—a sci-fi epic inspired by Henry James’s 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle, suffused with a haunting sense of mystery, and elevated by a career-defining, three-role performance by Seydoux.
“There’s nothing Seydoux can’t do…. The Beast is one of those movies mysterious enough to keep luring you back for repeat viewings, and so sumptuously made you look forward to returning.” —North Shore Movies
Wheelchair accessible
With English subtitles
Ticket Information
To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.
Bag Checks
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