No Fear, No Die (1990)

Synopsis: Claire Denis returns with yet another seedy and compelling vision of immigrant life in the dark interior suburbs of contemporary France. Isolation and alienation find their rough expression in the... Claire Denis returns with yet another seedy and compelling vision of immigrant life in the dark interior suburbs of contemporary France. Isolation and alienation find their rough expression in the nighttime world of cockfighting. Two West African brothers make their living training roosters to cockfight. When they are recruited by a sleazy bar owner to assist in the setup of a new ring, Denis's fearless documentary eye follows every cruel intricacy of the birds' training. The sordid life of the captive animals slowly comes to mirror and symbolize the caged existence of the two brothers, as social and sexual tensions slowly bubble over. Solveig Dommartin, a regular in the films of Wim Wenders, is the mistress of the bar owner. When one of the brothers begins to desire her, the claustrophobia of the film explodes. This subtle yet violent portrait of several alienated lives coming into violent and uncomfortable contact is beautifully filmed and intuitively narrated, giving the viewer a stunning yet detached vision of harsh and alienated lives, both animal and human. [More]

Starring: Isaach de Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-Claude Brialy, Solveig Dommartin

Starring: Isaach de Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-Claude Brialy, Solveig Dommartin

Director: Claire Denis

Director: Claire Denis

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