stalwart of French independent cinema, Bertrand Bonello unleashed his most ambitious project to date at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, where – his spin on Henry James’ novella ‘The Beast in the Jungle’ starring Léa Seydoux and George MacKay – competed for the Golden Lion. It baffled some viewers and was embraced by others, but Bonello is no stranger to creating divisive work. In fact, if he can’t create exactly the film he has in mind, why bother at all?
