REVIEW: ‘She Is Conann’ Resurrects Icon For Surreal Epic

Out of all the splashy big premieres at the 2023 Fantastic Fest Film Festival, one film remains in the conversation. That film is She is Conann, the third feature from filmmaker Bertrand Mandico. Mandico’s previous two features, The Wild Boys and After Blue, were already known for their transgressive nature, but his latest is something really special. She is Conann adapts the classic character of Conan the Barbarian into a surreal odyssey told through a feminine lens. While there’s no doubt Mandico has a lot to say with his third film, audiences should first feel rather than analyze.

She is Conann starts where one would expect. A young girl named Conann (Claire Duburcq) lives as a slave under the watch of a violent barbarian. With the help of a strange dog man/demon known as Rainer (Elina Löwensohn), Conann encounters a future version of herself — the violent badass she aspires to be (Christa Théret). This older Conann kills her, assuming her place. This Conann meets her maker at the hand of succession of other Conanns (played by Sandra Parfait, Agata Buzek, Nathalie Richard, and Françoise Brion), sending her through a journey across time periods and environments. 

One of the strongest elements of She is Connan is just how good it looks. Shot in primarily black-and-white, with flashes of color, by cinematographer Nicolas Eveilleau, the film is unified by a haunting quality. The early portions of She is Conann evoke the classic high fantasy mythos of Conan the Barbarian, at least as envisioned by writer Robert E. Howard and artist Frank Frazetta. The further the film goes on, the more bizarre it gets, jumping into an 80s-style punk/goth city, then a European war theater, and the disconcerting world of pretentious artists. A thumping synth score by Pierre Desprats backs the proceedings.

All of the actresses portraying Conann are fantastic at embodying the character in different states of her journey. In particular, the tragic story of 35 year old Conann (Sandra Parfait) losing the love of her life, Sanja (Julia Riedler), is overwhelmingly affecting. Of course, the big headline here is that they cast the character as a woman. Although this could be a statement in and of itself, Mandico mostly plays the story completely straightforward. However, as Conann loses more and more parts of herself as the new version kills the old version, this, intentionally or not, represents women sanding off the vulnerable parts of themselves to survive.  In She is Conann, though, it’s all very much up to audience interpretation why Mandico makes the choices he does.

The character that really jumps out, however, is Rainer. A male character played by the actress Elina Löwensohn, Rainer is a physically repulsive dog/man hybrid. A voyeur, he constantly takes pictures of Connan’s suffering and conquests. There’s no given reason other than that he simply must capture it. Intentional or not, the character reflects something of a reckless artist. Specifically, the kind that takes a perverted pleasure in chronicling suffering for their own aesthetic compulsion. It’s a sickening character and we can’t take our eyes off of them.

She is Conann is the story of degradation. It’s about losing yourself to become someone stronger to weather the storm. Conann’s journey is surreal, sometimes agonizing, sometimes loving, and always haunting. Bertrand Mancino has made the kind of film you want to pore over: analyze every frame and mix and match interpretations until the key is unlocked. Above all, She Is Conann is an invigorating new spin on a classic tale that breathes bizarre new life into it. What’s most important is that you see it and walk away wanting to discuss the content. That’s the mark of a work of art.

She Is Conann is coming soon to VOD.