French auteur Bruno Dumont discusses his 2026 film Red Rocks, a departure from his typically austere body of work that premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. The narrative follows two rival gangs of young children in the Côte d’Azur during summer, centering on Géo and Ève’s nascent romance. Shot with handheld cameras and wide-angle lenses by cinematographer Carlos Alfonso Corral, the film prioritizes capturing the essence of childhood rather than plot-driven storytelling, presenting vignettes of theft, exploration, and physical play while keeping adults conspicuously absent. Dumont emphasizes working with extremely young, non-professional actors and crafting awkward, tender moments between characters unfamiliar with the gestures they perform. The minimalist structure and loose narrative approach convey artistic freedom while avoiding sentimentalizing youth, instead acknowledging occasional violence and liminal uncertainty.
Original article published on MUBI Notebook — AI-generated summary. Visit the website to read the full article at the source.
