P’tit Quinquin, Parts 1 and 2

Directed by Bruno Dumont

Originally conceived as a four-part serial and featuring local actors form Northern France, P’tit Quinquin is an absurdist, slapstick, metaphysical and at times disturbing murder mystery. The film opens with the discovery of human remains stuffed inside a dead cow in a World War II German bunker by the beach. Capitaine Van der Weyden investigates this crime as well as subsequent, no less bizarre ones, but he has to contend with a band of young scoundrels led by P’tit Quinquin, a boy who always goes around with his beloved Eve. Unsurprisingly, Li’l Quinquin has been compared to Twin Peaks and True Detective. P’tit Quinquin‘s tone may well be comic, but in the course of its running time Dumont touches on numerous issues that complicate his rural, Picard-speaking corner of France: immigration, racism, marital discord, illicit sex, and, of course, violence.

Our Artistic Director: Film, Jason Wood, reviews P’tit Quinquin

Duration:
97 minutes

Languages:
French

Subtitles:
Full English

Country of origin:
France

Year of production:
2014