 |
| "Hi. Fancy a foot-long?" |
At a glance:
This 1970 Claude Chabrol effort is quietly delightful. I've only seen
one other film of his -
L'Enfer (1994) - and if these two are anythin to go by,
this director to me dwells a lot on implied terror and personal
relationships. It reminds me distinctly of Hitchcock in that sense
because there is no straightforward throat-slashin nor heart-stoppin action
sequences but more conceptual suspense. Like in
Rope (1948), we wonder throughout
the film if the corpse was even in the case while all the elaborate
conversation surrounds it. The movie also reminds me of the original
The Haunting (1963) in terms of texture and camerawork -it's always quiet and
sometimes even sleepy but yet somehow chillin. Popaul (Jean Yanne), the titular character, works in a
small French town by the countryside and meets local primary school headmistress Helene
(Stéphane Audran) at a weddin. The pair become
fast friends and their relationship begin to gather pace but always we
see an air of uneasiness about them still. Casting further doubt on
their progress are a series of murders taking place in the village with
no identifiable suspects. Helene gets suspicious about Popaul but we are
unsure of whether or not Popaul is indeed the wanted culprit.
Bad news on the doorstep:
As
with all psychological thrillers, the ending may not always be
satisfyin to the average thriller fan who expects some shockin twist
or some profound message from it. To risk comparin Chabrol to Hitchcock
again, I must say that there is no humour nor lightness to the film
other that the sublime rural imagery. It is very much a film about two
people, their interaction and the events surroundin them which might or
might not change their relationship. The suspense lies not so much in
what happens but rather how it happens.
Perennial wonderment:
If I wouldda made a better butcher than a writer.
Most memorable line:
If you never make love, you go crazy.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?Three and half stars. I recommend this little flick to viewers
who would enjoy psychological thrillers made in the same vein as The
Lady Vanishes (1938), Les Diaboliques (1955) and Rosemary's Baby (1968). Good music, too.
Bonus material:
Bad news on the doorstep:
_010.jpg)
Posts
