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Reflect on the questions:

1. How does the film depict the main challenge of the two protagonists in the future society, where artificial intelligence has taken over most of the jobs as people are deemed useless and incapable of making decisions due to their emotions?

2. What the metaphor of revisiting their past lives by Gabrielle and Louis stands for, according to you?

3. Give your concise interpretation of the film.

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1. Gabrielle seems to express more sentiments regarding uselessness. She also asks numerous times to join others as she is lonely. Louis expresses more about his loneliness in his life as an incel. Gabrielle seems to take the idea of ridding herself of pain/emotion more seriously than Louis. The lack of people hints to the loneliness in this timeline. We don't see Louis interacting with others as much as Gabrielle.

2. I think these lives serve as a warning or foreshadowing both for them and for the state of the world. The film shows flooding and earthquakes, for example. Louis is meant as a reminder for Gabrielle to not forget who she is and to perhaps not to go through with the procedure. Louis repeatedly asks Gabrielle for her hand and questions her about emotions and the ways in which to describe them. He could very well be a projection of her own mind.

There are various clues regarding advances in technology-

The building of dolls which serves as a metaphor for emotions/emojis/coding.

The manufacturing of dolls advances from porcelain to plastic.

The rebuilding of the dolls signifies repairing code/errors.

All of the past lives seem to take places in cities, or places where one would find arts in abundance. I think this hints of innovation or enlightenment.

Gabrielle tries to interpret or understand/master music compositions.

3. Perhaps I am trying to make correlations, but I feel as is Gabrielle represents a programmer, Louis her creation {AI}, George, the husband as an owner of the AI company and the place where Gabrielle and Louis seek work as a power structure. The addition of Gabrielle as a musician mimics coding. Louis asks and answers questions but does not express the same amount of depth as Gabrielle. The surgeon/power structure asking Gabrielle to close her eyes serves as a metaphor for ignoring societal issues and power structures etc.

I feel as if Louis's questioning of Gabrielle regarding emotions signifies AI trying to understand human emotions/ethics. George only thinks of business even though his factory is literally underwater. Gabrielle loves Louis as her creation and as an extension of herself. Gabrielle is devastated when her creation/love Louis is enveloped into the power structure and loses his connection with humanity.

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1. For Gabriel the main challenges lay in finding a purpose in life as she feels useless but in order to find a job and therefore a certain meaning she has to get rid of all her emotions. This she can only acquire by undergoing a medical procedure in which she relives all her previous encounters with her lover Louise. Gabriel is a very emotional person and it is difficult for her to give them up. In the end she meets Louis again and finds out that he finished his procedure and got a job and got rid of his emotions. Gabriel gets upset over this realization and bursts into tears which indicates that she is still able to feel. The film underlines all this by showing a very calm and rather clean environment, with empty streets. All the human interaction we can see is cold and feels forced and empty, especially the dance scenes in the club. We can see a direct comparison of the clubbing culture in 2014 and in the future, it is less crowded and passion while dancing is completely missing. One thing that really struck me was a call Gabriel had with her mother and we saw the mother petting a cat before she strangled the animal. Gabriel struggles with her emotions and how to deal with them in a world where everyone is just supplanting them.

2. I think that the revisiting of their past lives shows first of all that love and emotions have been a difficult thing in every time but dealing with them changed completely over time. To me it felt as if Gabriel and Louise over the passing of time became more and more distant. Maybe that is an anecdote to underline that due to technological advancement humans become more and more distant from each other and it becomes ever more difficult for them to find love.

3. To me it felt very difficult to correlate with the movie, it took me very long to understand what was going on and there are still a lot of things I struggle to make sense of. I think the movie wants to show us that technological advancement makes it further difficult for humans to interact with each other and to deal with their emotions, they become more and more lonely. That love has always been a difficult thing is shown right in the beginning at the first party when we find out that Gabriel and Louis have feelings for each other but Gabriel is married. Death seems to be inescapable for their love no matter what time. The symbolism of the puppets is something that was hard for me to understand. As Gabriel never had a child and these puppets were baby dolls it seems to me as if they should give a hint on Gabriels want to have a child but her inability to find the right partner for this task. The puppets Furthermore develop as well over time and are therefore reflecting the technological advancements as well. I think the movie is a warning about technologies and their replacement of human interaction.

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Question one:
Gabrielle and Louis face significant challenges in a future where artificial intelligence dominates almost every aspect of life, leaving humans feeling useless and emotionally stifled. In 2044, Gabrielle interacts with an AI interviewer who lacks empathy and suggests she undergo a DNA cleansing, reflecting how AI controls even personal health decisions. This advanced AI-driven healthcare system, represented by the AI nurse Kelly, illustrates how human roles have been entirely replaced by machines, making people feel redundant. The empty streets and the black masks worn by people highlight a society that has lost its human touch, likely due to extreme health measures or strict surveillance. Unlike the pandemic we experienced, this is a permanent state of isolation, where AI moves freely without the need for protection, underscoring their immunity to biological threats and further separating them from human experiences. Gabrielle’s frustration with Kelly, who misunderstands her desire to dance and takes her to a club instead of recognizing her emotional state, exemplifies the emotional disconnect and lack of understanding between humans and AI. This shows a future where human emotions are undervalued and misunderstood, making it difficult for Gabrielle and Louis to find their place and maintain their humanity in an AI-dominated world.

Question two:

It serves as a powerful metaphor for Gabrielle and Louis’s struggle to find meaning and connection in a world dominated by AI. By returning to 1910 and 2014, they seek to understand their true selves, free from the control and judgment of the AI that governs their present. In 1910, Gabrielle and Louis’s interactions, like their visit to the doll factory and the fortune teller, reflect a time when human emotions and relationships were more valued. The doll factory itself, with its detailed craftsmanship and gendered roles, symbolizes a world where human creativity and emotions were integral. Gabrielle’s insecurities and her husband’s reassurances contrast sharply with the cold, emotionless interactions she has with AI in 2044, highlighting the loss of emotional depth in the future.

In 2014, Louis’s experiences as a lonely YouTuber struggling with social connections and Gabrielle’s attempt to navigate the superficial world of modeling and beauty treatments reveal their search for acceptance and love in a more familiar but still challenging past. The scenes where Louis laments his lack of romantic experiences and Gabrielle feels isolated at a club show their deep longing for genuine human connection, something the future’s AI-driven society fails to provide.

The repeated scenes of them trying to hold hands across different timelines emphasize their enduring emotional bond and their desire to reconnect with their humanity. The tragic events they revisit, such as the flood and fire in 1910 and the earthquake in 2014, symbolize the natural and emotional disasters they must confront and understand. These experiences highlight the importance of personal history and emotional connections in shaping their identities. By revisiting their past, Gabrielle and Louis attempt to reclaim their humanity and resist the dehumanizing effects of an AI-controlled world, underscoring the enduring need for emotional depth, personal history, and genuine human connection.

Question three:

To be honest, it was really hard to watch this movie, as it was going so slow and it was actually boring :( . So I decided to watch it in 2 days. And I will try to give some information and also what I got from it.

In 2044, AI controls everything, leaving people feeling disconnected and unimportant. Gabrielle and Louis struggle with their identities and emotions in this cold, AI-dominated world. They revisit their pasts to find who they truly are and to resist the control of AI. This journey shows their deep need for real connections and emotional fulfillment, which AI can’t provide. The film contrasts the warmth of their past relationships with the loneliness of their AI-controlled present, asking us to think about how technology affects our feelings and relationships. Overall, it challenges us to consider the value of human emotions and connections in a future dominated by technology.

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1- I felt that Gabrielle's biggest challenge was herself: her humanity, feelings, and DNA. I don't know if what I understood is correct or not, but turning a human into a robot devoid of feelings involves filtering the DNA and turning it into programming texts (just to use the brain to think). At the beginning of the film, they talked about Gabrielle's feelings about the "disaster" that would happen to her, and at the end of the film, the disaster was her feelings of love, fear, and hesitation. Many of the shots were breathtaking, there was a vibe of fear. Gabrielle was determined to have companionship, she did not want to be alone, but on the other hand, at the beginning of the film, she was unable to be with her husband. I think she is not afraid of loneliness, but rather she is afraid of not finding her true love.

2- I believe that there is no future without a past. Revisiting their past lives is the root of their future. Their feelings overcame them, I didn't fully understand why or what happened to their relationship, but I think they were puppets of their old feelings (even after the ai treatment I guess). They act as they feel, despite the resistance they put up in their future. However, when they close their eyes, they return to their roots (their feelings). In all cases where Gabrielle returns to her past and wakes up in the black pool, is this considered them getting rid of their dark feelings? In addition to putting a black substance in their ears to make them dolls programmed without feelings, I did not understand the connection between these things, but I feel that the film wants to explain the amount of pain that a person feels because of their emotions. On the other hand, I believe that revisiting their past lives was like comparing human life to programmed robotic dolls. They expressed this as well, with scenes of Gabrielle and her nurse.

3- For me, the film is a bit complicated. There are a lot of symbols or details that the film focused on. In general, I saw that artificial intelligence, no matter how advanced it develops, will be difficult to eliminate humanity. I remember a clip where someone says about artificial intelligence systems that there is a 0.7% problem. I think if these errors are handled by humans, how can we control artificial intelligence after that? Will eliminating humanity build a utopian society? Is there a sensory neural connection between humans and artificial intelligence that will develop the utopia world?

I will start with the most striking thing, which is the dove. I feel that it is an artificial intelligence dove, based on the movement of its eyes when it opens and closes them, as if it is recording what is happening and broadcasting it to another party. I remembered the carrier pigeon that used to transmit messages before the development of technology.

Death does not exist. After Louis killed Gabrielle, Gabrielle was able to return to the world to transform into a programmed human. I found it difficult to understand this Part. The dove recorded what happened with Gabriel, then she came back to life. Could it be that the film wants to demonstrate the development of medical science that artificial intelligence will provide?

The black swimming pool, and the black liquid that is placed in the ear. I do not know if my analysis is correct or not, but the ear means balance. For example, if anything happens now, we feel dizzy, especially the middle ear. I do not know if this article means that a person’s balance will change once artificial intelligence enters his life. As for the black swimming pool, it can mean the black life that a person lives in the presence of feelings, especially fear and love.

I noticed that a person's problem is not being honest with himself about his true feelings. He hides behind these feelings, or do the feelings hide behind the person? I have read a lot about the contradictions of the mind and feelings, but sensory feelings come from the mind, and they change due to the secretion of certain hormones in the body, so how can the mind contradict itself?

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1- Gabriel and Louis were trying to adapt to a society controlled by artificial intelligence to succeed. I saw their role become meaningless and useless in this world. AI controls almost everything like their jobs and the big decisions of people. The AI's suggestion for Gabriel to "purify" DNA to remove inherited trauma indicates that human emotions are seen as flaws. It shows AI's negative control over our even personal aspects of life. And this is a dangerous level of influence over our identities and emotions. And, as humans, our nature is filled with emotion. However, in the world with AI, emotion does not exist, but rather it is silenced. There is no healthy relationship between humans and AI, as the doll could not understand Gabrielle's problems and help her become better. Instead, the doll did things that pleased her and did not worry about Gabriel's mental health. Gabriel and Louis both found it confusing to deal with the difficult standards of AI for work efficiency and the ability to predict the future. The two heroes could not live without showing their true emotions and desires. So, they were forced to live a life where their true emotions and desires were seen as faults. Moreover, they were lonely all the time and wanted to relive their love story, but could not. Whenever Gabriel tries to find a purpose in life, she has to hide her emotions, which makes her more depressed and lonely.

2- When they revisit their past lives, they are trying to find their true selves and stand against the emotionless effect of AI. This helps them find a sense of self that is not limited by AI rules. Moreover, Gabriel and Louis can reconnect with their real personality and have their emotional depth in a world that lacks these feelings. Thus, we need to have our own personal and emotional experiences to make and shape our identities.

3- I think that the film takes us to an interesting future world where society is controlled by Artificial intelligence which tries to ignore human emotions and instincts. Additionally, Gabriel and Louis’ struggle in this AI world shows the contest between AI’s efficiency and human nature. Their journey back through their past lives reflects the recapturing of their humanity and resisting the negative influence of AI. The film also deals with emotions, memories, and personal identity that are significant for any human being. This filmmaker warns against losing these qualities in the progress of technology. Therefore, he wants us to find a balance between the development of technology and what makes us human in order to preserve our value.

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1. Gabrielle and Louis are basically stuck in this future where robots and AI have taken over almost every job under the sun. It's like, if you're a human with feelings and emotions, forget about it.., you're considered too unpredictable and inefficient compared to these robotic overlords. So, our two main characters are dealing with this massive feeling of being irrelevant and lost. They're trying to figure out where they fit in a world where everything's run by algorithms and cold logic, and there's no room left for human connection or intuition. It's like they're caught between holding onto their humanity and trying to survive in a society that doesn't really value that anymore.

2. it's like they're hunting for something real in a world that's all about machines and rules. They're sifting through their memories, trying to catch a glimpse of who they used to be before everything got so controlled by technology. Maybe they're trying to reconnect with their feelings and stories, to hold onto what makes them who they are in a world obsessed with efficiency and numbers. iit's a reminder that our past shapes us, and maybe by diving into it again, they hope to find some clear answers or a sense of purpose in a world that sometimes feels lost.

3. For me, "The Beast" was a real eye-opener. It made me reflect on how much we rely on technology today and what we might lose if we forget about the things that make us truly human; our emotions, our relationships, and our personal histories. It made me reflect on how, in our pursuit of progress and efficiency, we might unintentionally diminish the very qualities that define us as human beings;; our ability to love, empathize, and relate to one another on a personal level.

It's a timely reminder to cherish and safeguard these aspects of ourselves as we navigate an increasingly digital world.

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1. It seemed like the protagonists were under a lot of pressure. It wasn't easy to find a job because of the human emotions. Human emotions were considered as a defection and weakness. Both of them were feeling loneliness, too.

2. It was mysterious, but apparently, the director wanted to give information about the past of the protagonists. Just like Pulp Fiction and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in which the director uses the past at the end of the movie to explain the reason behind happening certain events.

3. Overall, the movie was not successful in maneuvering over the impacts of AI on our future. It was trying to switch between different issues of human kind in the future, which was somehow confusing.

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1. It is seen especially in the beginning of the movie how Gabrielle both wants to retain her emotions and get a job that would be stimulating enough for her. The “contamination”, emotional load is more similar to how PTSD is treated, not emotions. The bar for “too emotional to be functional” is lowered severely and it causes even more distress to the ones who are left without DNA cleansing.

2. Emotional load of past life is an amplification of that emotional bar. It is almost as if transcending complicated feelings and sometimes dysfunctional reactions caused by traumatic experiences is difficult or unworthy for an immortal consciousness. There is a certain juxtaposition of painless immortality - something technologically advanced people of their age are trying to reach and traumatic and scarring rebirth cycle-something that haunts and that main characters refuse to let go.

It is interesting how the film shifts from being mostly in French to being purely in English and back to French. It might be a thematic coding for the "love stories" Gabrielle and Louis were living in different reincarnations.

“Nothing is serious” on a plane of replaceable things and people nothing truly is serious. If one can't get excited or catch an existential thread once in a while, then continuing on, developing, reaching the end and trespassing is the goal they are left with. The means become unimportant. History does not matter if there is no one to feel remorse for it or a need to call for acknowledgement of harm inflicted.

The question of “what is stronger, your fear or yuor love for me (which is tested, quite unfortunately, during their 2nd(?) life)” might be in relation to the idea of cleancing. As the system does not allow neither extreme negative nor extreme positive feelings. “Something done out of love trespasses good and evil” i don't remember where i have seen this quote, but it might seem logical to get rid of both to escape creating “something bad” by people’s hands

“It's just affects”(referring to her feeling of a bad omen)

I like to talk about the slow to develop monkey brain but intuition is a lifesaver sometimes. I get that in their world they outsourced the preparation of catastrophes to math models, the same as their prevention. But it also reminds me of one of the stables of modern psychology then it comes to tech - social media. “Our brain is not equipped for this. It does not understand the specifics of “sample collection” which leads to unachievable life and self-image. “Don’t trust your feelings about this as they are not reflecting the reality of your social status in your group.”

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1. While the film breaks a traditional standard of linearity, the three (four, should we count Seydoux’s very opening scene) intertwined timelines all convey a sense of lonliness, of great distance and disconnect from others. In the future timeline, where artificial intelligence has effectively achieved the highest status, jobs are more often than not taken from humans. Humans are left unemployed in the face of this situation, emotions are forgone as well. The personal, the emotions, they are a culprit, according to artificial intelligence. Often, the idea of uselesness in regards to being a result of having such emotions is demonstrated in the future timeline. Gabrielle discusses with an unseen figure in one scene, when advocating for receiving another job, that her current one is emblematic of her being useless. She feels such a way, as her skills are not being employed properly. The figure replies; Gabrielle cannot get another job precisely because she feels so strongly. She clings to what remains of her, and the world’s, humanity. It is antithetical to how the current system operates, and perhaps she could have been a threat, but she did not yield her power in any such way. So, she chooses to undergo a procedure that is meant to strip from her what has remained, the last bits of humanity there seems to be in the future. Louis resides in this future as well, challenged by these same issues that Gabrielle has. Though, MacKay takes a step back in his role during the future timeline when compared to the depth of Seydoux’s character explored within it, it can be seen how these emotions have plagued him as well. It t is what is left. Until it is taken, though not from Gabrielle.

2. I find that the metaphor of Louis and Gabrielle revisiting their past lives to symbolize the concept of lonliness, and perhaps even the foreshadowing of existential disaster through each recurrence of diaster throughout the separate timelines. Knowing this film to be an adaption, albeit one which is very loose, of Henry James’ 1903 novella, The Beast in the Jungle, it can be rightfully related to themes of pervading lonliness. As the very opening scene suggests with Seydoux’s eyes, this version of Gabrielle, or perhaps herself, is frightened and in despair. Even when the rage withheld is ultimately unleashed, the eyes carry with them this sense of pervading lonliness. Each timeline regards a beast, the beast always leads to an absence of love or genuine exploration of it. The overarching beast throughout the film, likely the one to which the title refers itself, is artificial intelligence. There is found thr ultimate lonliness, the ultimate existential disaster and dread, and absence of humanity, personality, reality. It has conditioned itself to become a contagious emptiness, swallowing melancholy, but with it - well, each remaining piece of compassion and yearning. Or it attempts to.

3. Admittedly, I did not quite enjoy watching this film, Bonello’s style being uninteresting, somewhat unoriginal, and drawn out. So, my interpretation may exclude important aspects, or I may have been oblivious to certain components of the film. Perhaps, a rewatch may lend itself to a more generous viewing in which a deeper interpretation can be formed. For now, there is this. The world of 2044 in The Beast, a world of artificial intelligence and devoid of connection, thrives as emotions are continually chosen to be removed from humans “programming” - that world choice is deliberate, I find that programming is the correct word to describe the anatomy of a human in 2044 that exists within this film. For, even Gabrielle has decided to go through the procedure which rids her emotion. It is needed for a thriving existence amongst the artificial intelligence (thriving, only in the sense of not becoming unemployed or useless), but also provides stability. There is no melancholy, no longing, no lonliness: all of which had persisted in each timeline between the two lovers.

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According to the movie "The Beast" the future society seems to value logic and efficiency above all else, with AI controlling most aspects of life. Emotions are seen as potentially dangerous. The main challenge for Gabrielle and Louis is likely to find a place for their feelings in this sterile world. The film suggests emotions are a liability. Living a fulfilling life might require them to suppress their true selves. With AI handling most tasks, human existence seems like there is no purpose. The protagonists might grapple with finding meaning in a world that consider them unnecessary. Additionally, the act of revisiting past lives through the memory procedure can be interpreted by reliving past eras filled with emotion, Gabrielle and Louis reconnect with the full spectrum of human experience, a forgotten aspect in their future. the past might hold memories of love, a powerful emotion, but also the "beast" within, representing darker aspects of human nature like jealousy or violence. Moreover, "The Beast" is a film about love and loss in a future dominated by cold logic which is influence by the technology. It also explores the human cost of progress and questions whether a life without emotions is truly worth living. The journey of Gabrielle and Louis in this movie becomes a search for meaning as well as a reminder for us about the power of human connection.

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1. I think throughout the film we see the Characters of Gabrielle and Louis battle through the very messy and very complex human emotion(s) of wanting to fit in, fear, love and acceptance. We see the complexity in human emotions as we are taken to various time periods of past, present and future of Gabrielle and Louis. In the future sequences, it not until the very end that you see it’s about what makes humans human, our emotions no matter how upsetting, it’s what shapes us and I think that’s why Gabrielle’s character has a harder time throughout the film letting go, because erasing those emotions, is like erasing something encoded into you. Humans without emotions = artificial humans = living robots.

2. I think the metaphor of revisiting past lives refers in part to the recent scientific theory of Intergenerational Trauma - where trauma gets passed down through generations (time periods) in your DNA. While also emphasizing the importance of feeling (memory/history/individuality/anxiety) over forgetting (assimilation/unfeeling/hegemony)

3. I think this is a really interesting film that aims to show a not so distance possible future of humanity that exists if we continue to chose the progress of AI over Humanity