SHE IS CONANN (France/Belgium/Luxembourg 2023) *
Directed by Bertrand Mandico

If one can remember the past Bertrand Mandico films AFTER BLUE and THE WILD BOYS, both sexual action fantasies, one can expect the same from his latest fantasy SHE IS CONNAN.  Be forewarned that his films are as weird as weird can be, made to look even weirder by his fondness of the use of saturated colour as well as black and white.

SHE IS CONANN pays tribute to John Milius' epic CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film that shot the bodybuilder to fame.  A feminist take on CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the film portrays vignettes throughout the life of Conann, as portrayed by Claire Duburcq at age 15, Christa Théret at age 25, Sandra Parfait at age 35, Agata Buzek at age 45, and Nathalie Richard at age 55.  Conan's life at different stages is shown with a different aesthetic and rhythm from the Sumerian era to the near future.

There is hardly any story or plot.  The colourful visuals make this wicked and horrid film look like a fantasy,  Director Mandico appears pleased with himself for including as many disgusting scenes as possible including a child eating her own dead mother’s body in order to live and violent, bloody killings.

That is as much positivity that can be said about SHE IS CONANN.  The rest is for one to see for oneself if one dares to take the risk of paying to see this film.  

Shot on 35mm, A Gender-Flipped Re-Telling of a Classic Like one, one would have  never seen, not that this is a good thing,

The film premiered in the Director's Fortnight program at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where it was in competition for the Queer Palm..  It won nothing.

SHE IS CONANN arrives on digital in North America Tuesday, May 7th on AppleTV, Amazon, GooglePlay, Vudu, and Vimeo.