Although the combination of the image of the alluring actress Léa Seydoux and the movie title on the poster of "The Beast," might easily evoke thoughts of the romantic "Beauty and the Beast" story (especially considering Seydoux's previous role in the French live-action version of this fairy tale) in reality, "The Beast" honestly reveals the cruel truth about love. In the film industry, most works romanticize love, but few films candidly expose the fear, pain, and destructiveness inherent in love. "The Beast" is one such rarity. Directed by French filmmaker Bertrand Bonello (who is renowned for his works, "Saint Laurent" and "House of Tolerance"), it was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and recently premiered in Argentine theaters.

I usually don't like to know much about a film's synopsis and plot before going to the cinema and prefer to maintain maximum unfamiliarity with film; I would like to view it "fresh". However, for "The Beast," I suggest it's best not to do so. Its strong sense of form and cross-cutting timeline might leave us feeling lost.
Based on the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, "The Beast" tells the tragic love story of Gabrielle Monnier and Louis Lewanski, played by Seydoux and George MacKay, in the years 1910, 2014, and 2044. Each story is treated by the director as a different film genre: a romantic period drama, a horror thriller, and a dystopian sci-fi respectively. Throughout her three lifetimes, Gabrielle is plagued by a sense of impending doom, restlessness, and anxiety, yet she never knows the source of these feelings. As viewers journey with her, we too feel perplexed and are eager to uncover the mystery of the identity of the "beast".
Although the stories are not told sequentially, we can piece them together in chronological order. The story set in 1910 unfolds against the backdrop of the Great Flood of Paris, with Gabrielle already married then. At a high society gathering, she unexpectedly meets Louis, and they are irresistibly drawn to each other. Just as Gabrielle finally decides to leave her husband and surrender her love to Louis, they become trapped in a burning workshop. In the process of seeking an escape, tragedy strikes, and they both ultimately perish together.

If the 1910 story is a beautiful romantic tragedy, the 2014 one feels unsettling. In this lifetime, Louis is cynical and embittered, after having lived over 20 years without a single girl liking him, and never having kissed or even held hands with a girl. His dejection eventually turns to rage, and in a chance encounter, he fixates on Gabrielle, and ultimately shoots her to death in a swimming pool.

Honestly, I found the story of this lifetime bewildering while watching the film in the cinema. It was difficult for me to accept Louis' transformation from a gallant gentleman in his previous lifetime to a brutal murderer, until I learned that the story is adapted from the 2014 Isla Vista shooting incident in the United States. In that incident, the perpetrator killed six people and injured thirteen before committing suicide in a shootout with the police. Prior to the attack, he detailed his growing up years online and posted several videos, including one titled "Why Do Girls Hate Me So Much," claiming to be sexually repressed, socially rejected, hopeless about humanity, and determined to exact revenge on society by killing those who had previously looked down on him.

If you're somewhat familiar with this shooting incident, you'll also recognize the term "incel" (short for "involuntary celibate"). The perpetrator mentioned above is a typical incel. Once a niche internet slang, it has now made international headlines and become a common topic in discussions about gender, misogyny, violence, and extremism. Research indicates that over the past decade or so, there have been numerous large-scale violent incidents committed by self-proclaimed incels or men openly advocating for male supremacy beliefs. This background knowledge helps us better understand the 2014 shooting.
Forward to 2044: the society is controlled by AI, with a human unemployment rate of 67% and an AI employment rate of 20%. Emotionally overwhelmed, Gabrielle attempts "emotional detox" in order to secure a better job because the ability to develop emotions is considered a defect in human DNA. During the process, Gabrielle glimpses the bonds between herself and Louis from the previous two lifetimes. Even though she learns that those bonds ultimately end in tragedy, she decides not to give up her ability to experience emotions. As such, her detox remains incomplete. She finds Louis in 2044 and expresses her love to him, only to discover that he has already been emotionally purged and employed by the Ministry of Defense. This in turn triggers a breakdown for Gabrielle.

So, who is the "beast" after all? Fatalists would say it's the tragic fate that cannot be changed in their three lifetimes, while proponents of singleness would say it's the perpetual loneliness that humans can never eradicate. But I would say—though it’s a harsh fact, we must face it—the beast is love. Love itself is a scourge of immense destruction. When one is in love, he or she experiences a mix of happiness, madness, burdens, and hardships. Furthermore, the gender differences in love might be the last straw that breaks Gabrielle's back.
Compared to Gabrielle, Louis is always the more cowardly party in their romantic relationship. Their stories in the past two lifetimes can be easily understood, and you might even take his side in the first lifetime, but let me offer you another heartbreaking fact to substantiate my view: when he finds out the door to the workshop is locked, he loses all hope and can't bring himself to face Gabrielle, who is still waiting for his rescue. He doesn't drown because time has run out; instead, it is because he can't deal with despair and is too ashamed to face the hopeful Gabrielle. From the three encounters between Gabrielle and Louis, we can see the difference between men and women when dealing with emotions. Men always avoid and dare not confront them directly, while women, no matter how difficult the road ahead or how great their fear is, still hope to tackle their feelings head-on and sort them out.

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