Calvaire (2004)
Genre: Drama / Horror
Duration: 88 minuten
Alternative title: The Ordeal
Country:
Belgium / France / Luxembourg
Directed by: Fabrice du Welz
Stars: Laurent Lucas, Jackie Berroyer and Philippe Nahon
IMDb score:
6,1 (15.383)
Releasedate: 9 March 2005
Calvaire plot
Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas), a French-speaking Belgian charm singer, travels through the Ardennes for his performances. One rainy night, he takes a wrong turn and gets lost in the deserted forest. To make matters worse, his car breaks down. Marc finds a place to sleep in Paul Bartel's deserted inn. At first glance a friendly and helpful man...
Actors and actresses
Marc Stevens
Madame Langhoff
M. Bartel
Boris
Robert Orton
Tomas Orton
Fermier Mylène
Lucien
Roland
Gáant
Reviews & comments
GoodOldJack
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- 1339 messages
- 4653 votes
Successfully passed, but without great distinction. Jackie Berroyer is, in my humble opinion, nothing short of brilliant as Monsieur Bartel. An eccentric man who has never been able to process certain things from the past. Laurent Lucas is also doing quite well as singer Marc Stevens. In addition, all the supporting roles, some without text, contribute well to the whole atmosphere that they want to create, big compliments to the casting.
With "this kind of film" I regularly want to sit and stare uncomfortably at my screen and that happened several times here, so that was also a must.
I also liked the absurdist character every now and then, certain scenes are rightly quoted here when I quickly leaf through the reactions.
The first part of the film didn't bother me in the least, a great atmosphere is already being created there.
Were there no downsides? Yes, here and there, the role of Boris would have been perfect for me. Visually I found it a bit too ordinary often and the larger concept of the film isn't that original either.
But all in all a success. I am curious about other work by Du Welz in any case. Special that I had hardly heard of the man (films only vaguely ring a bell) as a Belgian. It would be nice to get some more promotion for this kind of Belgian-made film, it doesn't always have to be Van Looy or Verheyen.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
-
- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
I've already seen van Warmerdam pop up here somewhere. Well, yes, it has something to do with that. Less stylish, but more raw and therefore less comical. Also a bit more limited in terms of dialogues. But strange and absurd? That's for sure! Also reminiscent of the classic Deliverance from 1972 with those ugly crazy residents.
The village's motives seem mysterious and unknown to me. Where I did detect some pitifulness in Bartel because he has psychological problems due to the death of his wife. Other scenes are completely taken off the hook, even literally sometimes with those bestialities. The cafe scene brought me back into sectarian atmospheres, but I don't think we need to look that far.
But what an atmosphere and rollercoaster of bizarre events there experiences. Great location, also the Ardennes which have often been a backdrop for dark films (Welp, Alias, D'Ardennes)...
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