Heartbeat Detector

aka: La Question Humaine
France 2007, 135 minutes
Dir. Nicolas Klotz
In French with English subtitles
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama

Topics: Business & Economics.

Feat. Mathieu Amalric, Michael Lonsdale, Lou Castel, Edith Scob

Aroview: A dense, demanding corporate thriller woven around a German multinational, whose human resources expert (Amalric), in investigating the mental state of the CEO, uncovers deeper fissures in the company’s business culture.

Thick with ideology and allegory, this broaches such weighty themes as fascism, Nazi history, language and technology, shot with the icy precision of a Michael Haneke picture. While a little on the esoteric side, the stealthy, labyrinthine plot elements and sinister tone carry through a niggling suspense, enough to maintain intrigue when the film's ideas go straight over one’s head.