Vague Visages’ She Is Conann review contains minor spoilers. Bertrand Mandico’s 2023 movie features Elina Löwensohn, Christa Théret and Julia Riedler. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

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Art is inherently subjective, which makes it somewhat difficult to assess the efficacy of a movie like She Is Conann, the latest oddball offering from French experimental filmmaker Bertrand Mandico (The Wild Boys, After Blue). For longtime fans who are comfortably perched on his peculiar wavelength, this will be another challenging, disgusting and fascinating flight of fancy, with many twisted delights that will only unfurl themselves through repeat viewings. Everybody else will find an enervating exercise in empty provocation that outstays its welcome.

Ostensibly, She Is Conann is a gender-flipped take on the legendary Conan the Barbarian, who was most famously played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the titular 1982 movie. Although Mandico traffics almost exclusively in obnoxious obfuscation, the wraparound is so straightforward as to be borderline cliché. Essentially, an old woman existing somewhere between life and death learns the history of Conann through a dog-faced demon named Rainer (Elina Löwensohn), who is arguably meant to invoke Anubis and has had many interactions with her over the years. 

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Conann is portrayed by different actors at different stages of her life, the strongest of whom is her youngest incarnation, played by Claire Duburcq. The teen’s installment is also the strongest overall, from the stunning monochromatic visuals and horrific violence to the beautifully detailed sets — even if, as with After Blue, She Is Conann looks as though it was all shot in the same room (but this could be purposeful on Mandico’s part). It’s a shame the entire story wasn’t focused on this one element of the subject’s life, since it’s not only the easiest to follow but also the most gripping. 

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The main issue with a film as defiantly arthouse as She Is Conann is that if the story isn’t engaging in its own right, everything else that’s wrong becomes increasingly more obvious. In this case, Mandico’s movie is much too long at 105 minutes. None of the stories feel connected, and the performances veer wildly from competent to head-scratching. The only actor who fully embodies the spirit of a female Conan is Duburcq, and without someone of equal caliber, viewers are forced to focus on the insufferable Rainer, a character so profoundly irritating that it’s baffling he gets the most screentime of anybody (the prosthetics work is impressive, though). 

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Much like After Blue, She Is Conann is pure style over substance, but the style isn’t especially unique or memorable. It boasts a similar lasciviousness to Mandico’s earlier movie too, with several lesbian love scenes scattered throughout, none of which make sense in context. Plus, close-ups are meant to challenge viewers when they’re really just titillating. The question remains: where does queer pride end and exploitation begin? There are plenty of gross-out moments in She Is Conann, but the effect becomes dulled, with so much cannibalism taking place throughout the movie that it eventually becomes tedious. Even the gore isn’t terribly inventive or shocking. 

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Another major issue with She Is Conann, perhaps the most glaring, is its stake as a feminist take on a traditionally masculine character. Yes, Conan is now a woman, but otherwise there’s nothing to really distinguish her from the dude Schwarzenegger played. If anything, he is more layered and interesting. Mandico has little interest in excavating what makes his heroine tick, instead relying on switching up actors at random junctures so there’s little time to get to know any of them more intimately. Sandra Parfait, who plays Conann at 35, suffers the most as a result. Her extensive character journey doesn’t make sense, and it also contains the movie’s most eye-rolling attempt at shock, thanks to a bizarre sex scene that only exemplifies the weak script.

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The real star of the show is Rainer, who is played by the same actor throughout She Is Conann, much to the film’s detriment. Even Sanja (Julia Riedler), the subject’s lifelong nemesis, isn’t afforded much in the way of character development despite being a constant presence. Mandico is clearly interested in Conan as a character, but She Is Conann doesn’t make an intriguing argument for why audiences should care about her too. Simply gender-flipping a male character and having her brandish a weapon isn’t enough, which is why the calls for a female James Bond died out years ago. By focusing on Rainer, Mandico betrays his own limitations as a male filmmaker telling a woman’s story, even if the dog-faced demon is gender fluid (the character uses he/him pronouns but is played by a woman). 

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She Is Conann frequently looks stunning, and the practical FX work is impressive throughout. The early stages are reasonably diverting, but once Mandico splits his focus to tell a whole bunch of different stories — ranging from confusing to downright insipid — it quickly becomes clear that he should’ve focused on one cogent tale instead. She Is Conann is immediately off-putting, while the ending is curiously pat, as though Mandico wasn’t sure how to wrap things up. Leaden pacing and an ardent commitment to pushing the boundaries of good taste for no real payoff will further alienate all but those who have already drank the Kool-Aid.

She Is Conann released theatrically in North America on February 2, 2024 via Altered Innocence. 

Joey Keogh (@JoeyLDG) is a writer from Dublin, Ireland with an unhealthy appetite for horror movies and Judge Judy. In stark contrast with every other Irish person ever, she’s straight edge. Hello to Jason Isaacs.

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