Zombi Child is a 2019 French drama film directed by Bertrand Bonello. It is based on the account of the life of a supposed zombified man in Haiti, Clairvius Narcisse. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]
Zombi Child | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Bertrand Bonello |
Written by | Bertrand Bonello |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Yves Cape |
Edited by | Anita Roth |
Music by | Bertrand Bonello |
Production companies | My New Pictures Les Films du Bal |
Distributed by | Ad Vitam |
Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Box office | $200,599[1][2] |
In 1962, a Haitian man is buried alive by white colonists, only to be brought back as an undead zombi slave. 55 years later, a teenage girl Fanny makes friends with Mélissa, who moved from Haiti to France after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. After it is revealed that Mélissa's family is associated with voodoo culture, Fanny convinces Mélissa's aunt Katy (a mambo) to perform a ritual in order to cure Fanny's heartbreak over a recent breakup. The ritual goes awry, however, leaving Fanny possessed by Baron Samedi himself.
The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2019.[5] It was released in France on 12 June 2019.[6]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 83 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "If the strain of its ambitious juggling act sometimes shows, Zombi Child remains an entertainingly audacious experience, enlivened with thought-provoking themes."[7] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 74 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
Films directed by Bertrand Bonello | |
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Feature films |
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Short films |
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