Whilst I wouldn't be too confident if I had to answer a string of questions regarding Belgian film form, Calvaire is a film that certainly goes quite a distance to suggest that the small and seemingly peaceful country that is Belgium is rather brushed up on the horror genre when it comes to film. But at the same time, it would suggest at least to me that their film form is something of an interesting one: revolving the first third around an individual yet showing us actions from the seemingly impeding bad guys whilst turning the film on its head towards the end and having a third element enter the already messed up fray.
You could liken Fabrice Du Welz's film to Hitchcock's 1960 Psycho: If Marc is Marion; Bartel is Norman Bates and the rest of the villagers are Marion's sister and the boyfriend. Obviously you'd have to include some animal buggery; some odd alliances at the very end and some scenes of a sexual nature but the likeliness is there. From what I've seen of Belgian film; Man Bites Dog is an odd and surreal film sort of crossing The Blair Witch Project with Léon and from what few clips I've caught glimpses of in Belleville Rendez-Vous, it is the sort of film the German Expressionists would've made had they collaborated with Disney/Pixar if indeed they had been around at the time. I think Calvaire (rightfully named 'The Ordeal') works on a certain level of shock and scares because it is brave and outgoing in the sense it is not afraid of what people will think of it; it is merely the director making the film he wants to make regardless of political or social outcry regarding the content. To understand this further, imagine if Eli Roth's 2005 gore-fest Hostel had indeed been made by a Slovakian filmmaker. Makes you think, doesn't it?
I mentioned that previous Belgian efforts perhaps borrow from Hollywood but that is not a criticism. Calvaire is more Deliverance and Southern Comfort mixed in with a bit of the old classic that is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Marc Stevens (Lucas) is the hapless fellow who brakes down in the middle of proverbial nowhere and must fight for his life to survive. In the film's second scene, Marc is approached in his dressing room after a show and has an elderly woman in the crowd come onto him; he rejects her and she leaves the room sobbing, labelling herself a whore. This is the film in a nutshell: Marc getting much more than he bargained for. The next time he sings to someone, that incident in itself activates repressed sexual hormones in a certain someone that flood to the surface and begin a terrifying state of events but he cannot merely reject the person like he could before. It seems Marc's voice is a lot more powerful than he thought.
Calvaire builds up its menace and its eeriness through some, albethem rather simple, effective ways. Marc plays the role like a detective in the early stages and each event such as the cutting off of the telephone line as well as the constant ambiguity that surrounds the kid searching for his dog plays an important role in setting up a certain uncanniness. I especially liked the scenes in which Bartel (Berroyer) is going through the van looking for things; clever and effective because despite the film apparently focusing on Marc as the protagonist, when he is away we are not shown him walking his walk but instead we see the seemingly villainous Bartel steal from this nice young man: an interesting and brave spin on things. This adds to the effectiveness later on when Marc sees the stolen items on Bartel's desk and reclaims them from the watching Bartel.
I think Calvaire is a film that deals with not only mental illness as the village and its people are clearly insane but also with disillusion and hallucination. Bartel is so fixated on Marc apparently being his former wife that you could merely say he was insane. On the other hand, another villager who has no prior knowledge of the films events also sees Marc as Bartel's wife with the final piece of evidence occurring nearer the finish when a certain someone else is close to meeting their demise; quipping: "Admit you always loved me" here is a golden chance for Marc to get some sort of revenge on a defenceless person who has put him through hell but instead of doing just that, he actually admits: "Yes, I once loved you". Now, this I found very odd because that would suggest that either Marc is still playing the submissive role of having them do and say whatever he wants or he was once actually a woman in that town: remember the opening scenes have him performing in drag; hinting at a female persona. Also, remember that Bartel's wife was a singer before she left him probably still is now, why would she quit?
If there are complaints, it's that Calvaire ends abruptly with no exact closure. The ambiguity I've just discussed feels good and open-ended but I would've liked a 'what happened next' regarding where he goes now; like Deliverance and Hostel but unlike, remember, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Calvaire is an interesting and frightening film that gets across its scares through Belgian rednecks and atmosphere. Recommended if you want something simple, scary and from another country.
You could liken Fabrice Du Welz's film to Hitchcock's 1960 Psycho: If Marc is Marion; Bartel is Norman Bates and the rest of the villagers are Marion's sister and the boyfriend. Obviously you'd have to include some animal buggery; some odd alliances at the very end and some scenes of a sexual nature but the likeliness is there. From what I've seen of Belgian film; Man Bites Dog is an odd and surreal film sort of crossing The Blair Witch Project with Léon and from what few clips I've caught glimpses of in Belleville Rendez-Vous, it is the sort of film the German Expressionists would've made had they collaborated with Disney/Pixar if indeed they had been around at the time. I think Calvaire (rightfully named 'The Ordeal') works on a certain level of shock and scares because it is brave and outgoing in the sense it is not afraid of what people will think of it; it is merely the director making the film he wants to make regardless of political or social outcry regarding the content. To understand this further, imagine if Eli Roth's 2005 gore-fest Hostel had indeed been made by a Slovakian filmmaker. Makes you think, doesn't it?
I mentioned that previous Belgian efforts perhaps borrow from Hollywood but that is not a criticism. Calvaire is more Deliverance and Southern Comfort mixed in with a bit of the old classic that is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Marc Stevens (Lucas) is the hapless fellow who brakes down in the middle of proverbial nowhere and must fight for his life to survive. In the film's second scene, Marc is approached in his dressing room after a show and has an elderly woman in the crowd come onto him; he rejects her and she leaves the room sobbing, labelling herself a whore. This is the film in a nutshell: Marc getting much more than he bargained for. The next time he sings to someone, that incident in itself activates repressed sexual hormones in a certain someone that flood to the surface and begin a terrifying state of events but he cannot merely reject the person like he could before. It seems Marc's voice is a lot more powerful than he thought.
Calvaire builds up its menace and its eeriness through some, albethem rather simple, effective ways. Marc plays the role like a detective in the early stages and each event such as the cutting off of the telephone line as well as the constant ambiguity that surrounds the kid searching for his dog plays an important role in setting up a certain uncanniness. I especially liked the scenes in which Bartel (Berroyer) is going through the van looking for things; clever and effective because despite the film apparently focusing on Marc as the protagonist, when he is away we are not shown him walking his walk but instead we see the seemingly villainous Bartel steal from this nice young man: an interesting and brave spin on things. This adds to the effectiveness later on when Marc sees the stolen items on Bartel's desk and reclaims them from the watching Bartel.
I think Calvaire is a film that deals with not only mental illness as the village and its people are clearly insane but also with disillusion and hallucination. Bartel is so fixated on Marc apparently being his former wife that you could merely say he was insane. On the other hand, another villager who has no prior knowledge of the films events also sees Marc as Bartel's wife with the final piece of evidence occurring nearer the finish when a certain someone else is close to meeting their demise; quipping: "Admit you always loved me" here is a golden chance for Marc to get some sort of revenge on a defenceless person who has put him through hell but instead of doing just that, he actually admits: "Yes, I once loved you". Now, this I found very odd because that would suggest that either Marc is still playing the submissive role of having them do and say whatever he wants or he was once actually a woman in that town: remember the opening scenes have him performing in drag; hinting at a female persona. Also, remember that Bartel's wife was a singer before she left him probably still is now, why would she quit?
If there are complaints, it's that Calvaire ends abruptly with no exact closure. The ambiguity I've just discussed feels good and open-ended but I would've liked a 'what happened next' regarding where he goes now; like Deliverance and Hostel but unlike, remember, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Calvaire is an interesting and frightening film that gets across its scares through Belgian rednecks and atmosphere. Recommended if you want something simple, scary and from another country.