One of that loose category of films lumped together under the heading “New French Extremity”. This early example from 2004 pulls on the then thirty-year-old threads of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Last House on the Left (1972), wrapping them in the blood soaked gauze of Deliverance (1972).
Here, just before Christmas, travelling entertainer Marc is driving to his next show when his van breaks down. The unsuspecting singer is guided to a rundown inn by a helpful local, and offered a room for the night by fellow entertainer, the eccentric Bartel.
Two days later Marc is wearing a dress, covered in blood, scalp torn to shred, hands tied behind his back, fleeing for his life.
A slow start escalates by increments of surrealist crazy, as Bartel and the local “mouth-breathers” fight for possession of Marc. They seem to share the collective delusion that Marc is their estranged wife, or adulterous lover, Gloria.
It’s an unsettling film, that revels in turning an unflinching eye on humanity given over to impulse.
You must be logged in to post a comment.