Calvaire

I've just watched a rather excellent Belgian film called 'Calvaire', the first feature length film by the very talented Fabrice du Welz. The english title is 'The Ordeal' but that simplifies things and remore the multiple meanings of the word in French such as Mount cavelry where Jesus was supoosedly crucified and also the name of stone crosses that can be found across Belgium and norther France. The religious symbolism is important as there is a lot that can be read into the film. Again, multiple potential interpretations are important as that is one of the things the film talks about.

It's difficult to describe this film but as a brief synopsis a travelling singer find himself in a small village in the Ardennes where a lonely inn-keeper called Paul Bartel (Du Welz likes naming characters after cult directors, see the Godin one at the end) is convinced that he is his wife who ran away but has now returned. The rest of the village are even stranger. The film involves a calf being, um, pleasured, seven dwarves in red, crucifictions, pigs as pets, the strangest and creepiest dance I've seen for a long time in the village bar, a man in a dress and a chase through the beautifully filmed Hautes Fagnes. Is it real? Is the singer just an open vessel that people see whatever they want to in? Is everybody mad? Maybe it's hell? Who knows and that is part of the fun of this film. It's playful and creepy like good surrealism should be. Du Welz also knows hos horror and aknowledges tributes to Deliverance, Texas Chainsaw, Straw Dogs, Psycho and Don't look know. But he makes this his own and leaves you with a film that has you thinking about it after the very end of the credits which have a little something at the very end to add yet more possibilities to what you have just seen.

The DVD also has his first short 'Quand on est amoreux c'est merveilleux' which is a very funny and quite melancholy little tale involving necrophilia. It's also very good and owes a lot to Lynch with an athmoshpere and use of sound reminiscent of Eraserhead. It also has the very lovely French adult actress Laure Sinclair in a small role and Noel Godin plays a character caled Fulchi.