April 29 – May 4

In the cinema of Bertrand Bonello—one of the most daring, intelligent, and virtuosic figures in French cinema today—the human body is constantly under scrutiny: objectified, exchanged, idealized, studied, violated, manipulated, undressed, and dressed up. Few filmmakers working today are as skilled at grounding wide-angle social critiques (of late-capitalist power structures and of the political stagnation in contemporary France) in the physical movement of bodies through space: a couple trapped in winter gridlock; an aging pornographer and his much younger stars; a commune of revolutionary hedonists; a house of 19th-century prostitutes; a psychotic aesthete and the object of his desire; a fashion designer and his rotating coterie of friends and admirers. A trained composer, Bonello approaches his movies like pieces of music, allowing competing tonal elements to collide and rearrange themselves in bracing configurations. On the occasion of the US release of his latest feature film, Saint Laurent (opening at the Film Society on May 8, with a special sneak preview during this retrospective), we are pleased to present Bonello’s body of work, which consistently pushes viewers into new and surprising territory. Programmed by Dennis Lim with Florence Almozini, Dan Sullivan, Rufus de Rham and Tony Trius.

Don't miss a selection of works from Bonello’s recent exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Bertrand Bonello, Résonances, in the Furman Gallery and Film Center Amphitheater.

See more for less with a 3+ Film Package!