Der Murmelnde

Mompelaar is a man who lives with his ever present and overbearing mother; he appears to be entirely introverted and have a speech impediment that sees him entirely incomprehensible. He heads out into the woods and finds himself at the place where several brutal murders appear to have occurred. He tides up a bit and carries on, coming across a group out for a nature talk which descends quickly into horror and religion.

I've had a go with the plot summary but to be honest this is a very hard film to describe. The plot is nonsense but somehow it works because it draws you in. The direction seems to use nothing but longer takes where the camera doesn't move and the look is very natural and peaceful throughout. It is an incredibly odd feeling because it has a natural look but yet the on screen action is extreme and makes no sense whatsoever. In addition to this a lot of the action plays out under Beethoven's Symphony No 7, which again gives a very serene feeling to the film which contrasts nicely with the horror.

Buyse's restrained and awkward performance cements it all together as we wonder what is going on but yet cannot look away from it. I'll be honest and say I have no idea what the content means or specifically what was going on, but I loved how this made me feel and I loved the combination of the peacefully static (giving the film a calm, normal feel) with the gruesome and senseless horror). Very odd indeed but very much worth a look.