Calvaire

If you are like me and found this film alongside titles such as "Irreversible", "A Serbian Film", and "The Angels' Melanchlia" you will likely be dissapointed. This film is slow burning, yet offers a good story.

This film does have a dark side, and has been produced in an artistically dark manner. Between the stringy orchestras, strangely behaved townfolk, and mysterious protag. it is appealing in a creepy sort of way. But. unfortunately I feel it falls into the category of not "Extreme" but yet not "Hollywood horror" leaving it a smaller window of individuals who truly appreciate the film. Regardless, the plot is unique and though it has been done before this movie adds to the genre. 7/10, well done Bulgium.

The subject is not new: the you-take-your-life-in-your -hands -when -you-get-into -that-inn trick was the subject of Claude Autant-Lara's "L'Auberge Rouge" (1951)and of Hitchcock's "psycho" .One can also notice borrowings from Schoedsack/Pichel's "the most dangerous game" (1932) ,from "Texas chain saw massacre " ,from François Ozon's "Les Amants Criminels"(1996) .The atmosphere even recalls sometimes that of the director's compatriot André Delvaux's "Un Soir Un train" (1968).But the main influence is a French movie: "Barracuda " by Philippe Haïm starring Guillaume Canet and Jean Rochefort;Marc and Bartel strongly recall their characters.

Let's forget the hackneyed quicksands trick,which could not happen ,if the writers knew about Archimedes's theorem.All that remains is really spooky.The first part succeeds in building a tension ,without any special effect.The Christmas party,when the singer performs in front of a bunch of old ladies in an old people's home already leaves the viewer ill at ease.In the following sequences ,fear grows and never leaves you.Even the story of the dwarfs (did you notice the children dressed as little red riding hoods in the woods?) and Mark's song seem lugubrious,sinister.

Except for the old ladies and the nurse who takes care of them (played by an ex-porno star Brigitte Lahaie) ,and one or two peasant women on the farm,this is a male bestial atmosphere.Marc's cries look like animal screams .

Not for the squeamish.

I first saw this in the early 2k on a dvd which I own.

Revisited it recently.

The plot - On a Christmas eve, a singer's van breaks down in a deserted and marshy region. The singer takes refuge in an inn run by a hospitable but creepy innkeeper who became psychologically upset with the villagers after his wife left him. The innkeeper offers to repair the singer's van as a token of brotherhood between professional entertainers.

The next morning when the singer tells the innkeeper that he is going for a walk, the innkeeper suddenly becomes paranoid and aggressive, warning the singer not to go into the nearby village.

The movie has tons of atmosphere but is very claustrophobic, surrealistic n horrifying at times.

The bar scene where outta blue the people starts dancing with one another is downright creepy.

The backwoods village without a single female character and not a single sane male character is an epitome of eeriness.

Wow...the other review is nuts. This movie was fantastic!

I got a chance to thank the director (in french) after the film. The lighting was unbelievable, the acting was great, the directing was great, and the script was fantastic. Definitely not for the weak of stomach...pretty gory and painful at times, but let up with some hilarious moments (ie. the dance). They shot on super 16 which gave it an incredible grainy quality...very 1980s sci-fi/horror (which i liked). It was very dark with extremely high contrast, and some beautiful locations. The end seemed like a bit of a let-down at first, but the more i think about it the more i like it. (won't give it away though).

Suffice to say it was gorgeously shot, great cast/crew, and a interesting take on insanity and love. The director described it as a 'love story'...ermmm...yes? with a crucifixion...and pig buggery...

anyways, I would LOVE to see this get a release (without a re-edit), or at lest a distribution deal. It really deserves it.

-cheers,

claire

Saw this film as part of the Gala Opening for the Cinemuerte Horror Film Festival in Vancouver recently. I kinda knew what to expect from reading a description of the film before going in, but it still was quite the cinematic experience.

Suffice it to say, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend this film to anyone in my particular circle of friends (well, maybe a few), but the film had me mesmerized, and since I do enjoy dark cinema, I'd have to say I certainly enjoyed it for what it was. There were images and scenes in the film that stayed with me after, and it certainly had a noticeable effect on the audience attending. Some liked it. Some hated it. Some didn't enjoy the "pig squealing"...like one girl in the audience noted after the film had ended. (you'll understand more towards the latter-half of the film) Elements of "Deliverance", "Southern Comfort", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" are all here, with more dark humour involved. Dark, very dark humour.

The cinematography was incredible. You've never seen the wilderness shot to look so menacing, yet maintaining a strange, dread-filled beauty. And yet it also seems endless, as if civilization is nowhere near where the events in the film take place. I unconsciously wrapped my arms around myself during the movie, from both the tension in the film, and from feeling I myself was out there in the chill of the woods.

I won't go into the plot-line, since a few others already have, but this film gives good credence to making sure that if you go driving in the country, your engine has had a recent tune-up, and you've got plenty of gas in the tank. AND to make sure you're cautious about the seeming kindness of strangers...