The Butcher (1970) @ Le Boucher

"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:

Eugénie (1975, or is it 1970?)

At a glance:
There seems to be an awful lot of movies out there titled Eugénie and they all seem to be classic erotica. Even this title had two or three variants and all by that artsy sicko Jess Franco, whose oeuvre of sex movies makes him very important in world cinema (for the uninitiated). Wotta guy! The movie I'm tellin you about here is adapted from a dirty book by Marquis de Sade and it revolves around a pretty (and pretty fragile) girl who begins a sadistic, incestuous affair with her writer stepfather. Together they go on a series of graphic and elaborate thrill kills (one of the victims is future Franco starlet Alice Arno in her first role for him, I read). The conflict comes when Eugénie falls in love with the next intended victim, a musician bloke. Themes are sadomasochism, disenfranchisement and jealousy.
Bad news on the doorstep:
If you're lookin for Tinto Brass nudity, then obviously this isn't it. Franco's works often depress. I feel like I'm lost in a wonderful garden and it's gettin late. Love the colours in this film, though.
Watch out for:
Soledad Miranda (born Soledad Rendón Bueno in Seville to Portuguese parents of Roman ancestry), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda, Susann Korda and credited here as Susan Korday, pic, brunette), often said to be Franco's greatest discovery. He put her in some cult classics such as Count Dracula and Vampyros Lesbos. In this movie, you can see her exquisite nymph of a body (if you're into that sort of thing) when she's not busy huggin her knees all the time. Fragile beauty, she. A DVD box describes her as The beguiling beauty Soledad Miranda. Phwoar. Died in car accident with her husband at the wheel 1970, aged 27. In three more weeks I'm goin to outlive her. That is if zombies don't kill me in my sleep.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
I prefer somethin more immediate. ★★1/2
The day the music died:

Soledad Rendón Bueno a.k.a. Soledad Miranda
(9 July 1943 – 18 August 1970)