La Bête Humaine (1938) on Netflix
Jacques Lantier drives trains and is seized by violent rages near women. Deputy stationmaster Roubaud accuses his wife Séverine of an old affair and demands her presence for his revenge.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.5/109,121 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
Headaches and fits of violence come over the engine driver Jacques Lantier when he is with a woman, and drink makes them worse; his locomotive is what holds them off. On a stop for repairs at Le Havre he visits his aunt's village and goes walking with Flore, a young woman he knew as a child. Beside the railway line his hands close on her throat, and only the roar of a passing train makes him let go. In the same port, Roubaud, the deputy stationmaster, accuses his wife Séverine of an affair she once had with her wealthy godfather Grandmorin, and she confirms it. He wants her present when he takes his revenge, and the two arrange to travel on the train that Grandmorin is taking.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about La Bête Humaine (1938)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Jean Gabin wanted to star in a film about locomotives and wrote his own screenplay, Train d'Enfer, which Jean Grémillon was to direct. Grémillon disliked that script and suggested adapting Zola's La Bête humaine instead, so Gabin hired Jean Renoir to direct.
- Jean Renoir admitted he had not read Zola's novel in over 25 years when he wrote the screenplay, and kept altering the scenario during shooting to bring it closer to Zola, rereading pages of the novel every night. Simone Simon's dialogue is almost entirely copied from Zola's text.
