French films have a bad reputation among many Americans, who find their heavy symbolism and slow action boring and obtuse. Despite it's numerous 1999 Cannes Film Festival Awards, Bruno Dumont's "Humanite," which can be seen at the UWM Union Cinema Fri., Feb. 23, as part of the French Film Festival, won't help convert those folks.

Unmarried police superintendent Pharaon De Winter (Emmanuel Schotte) lives with his mother in a working class neighborhood of Bailleul, in Northern France, and "lost" his fiancee and child a few years ago, although we don't find out how. Although he seems a bit dim, we never truly work out whether he's mentally challenged or emotionally exhausted.

As "Humanite" opens, an 11-year-old girl has been raped, murdered and dumped in a field after school. This horrific crime -- the aftermath of which is vividly portrayed in the film -- cuts to the core of Pharaon and the police chief (Ghislain Ghesquere), who both struggle to deal with the emotions it creates and to capture the culprit.

His days are divided between his job and his obsession with his neighbor Domino (Severine Caneele), who is having a rather physical and public relationship with school bus driver Joseph (Philippe Tullier).

Pharaon tags along with Domino and Joseph as they visit the seaside, go to restaurants for dinner and even finds himself looking on as they make love. Despite the pain he feels when he bears witness to their relationship, Pharaon seems unable to avoid watching from his front row seat.

Pharaon is also the great-grandson of a renowned 19th century painter of the same name and has lent an extremely engaging portrait to a museum for a retrospective. The real De Winter's paintings are used in these scenes and represent some of the few glimmers of beauty in a film painted black with a dark premise, often less-than-enchanting landscapes and characters that have been rubbed raw by life.

Despite the ugliness that surrounds him, Pharaon finds compassion and empathy deep inside, especially when the killer is found and Pharaon meets him face to face.

Those looking for a light-hearted French film with lovely scenery and cartoonish characters -- a la "Chocolat" -- won't find much to amuse them in this 2.5-hour film that moves at the pace of escargot. But this stark existential diary opens a window on human pain, suffering, hope and compassion.

N.B. "Humanite" has some graphic moments.

Grade: B+