morrison-dylan-fan Whilst being in the midst of watching 100 French films over 100 days I have been in the mood of seeing a Giallo related movie.Being a fan of the actress from the ultra-stylish gialli Four Flies on Grey Velvet and the utterly bonkers The Black Cat,I was delighted to spot Giallo star Mimsy Farmer in a gritty French movie,which led to me getting ready to go on the hunt.The plot:Meeting up in the woods,a group of 7 men get set to go hunting for pigs in the woods.Missing her train, Helen Wells looks for a place to stay.Whilst walking round in the woods,Wells is spotted by some of the men,who corner Wells and rape her.Throwing Wells to the side like trash,one of the men discovers that he dropped his gun at the scene.Returning to get the gun,the gang soon discover that Wells has made the hunters become the hunted.View on the film:Although the audio sounds like its been smacked on a cheese grater,the dialogue in co-writer/(along with André G. Brunelin) director Serge Leroy's screenplay is still able to give the viewer a good,nasty jab,due to the confrontation manner that the guys talk about Wells revealing all of them as upper-crust dogs.Bringing the rape/revenge "Horror" genre to the middle class,the writers attack the bourgeoisie with an unrelenting ruthlessness,by making each of the gang members suffocate their disguise of the rape,so that their image of being "trusted" members of the elite can be kept as a mask.Largely shot in the outdoors,director Leroy & cinematographer Claude Renoir capture the rugged terrain in grainy,sawn-off tracking shots which wraps the title in a thrilling uneasy atmosphere,as Wells tries to outmatch the hunters.Joined by the excellent,mean spirited gang whose members include Michael Lonsdale and Jean-Pierre Marielle, Mimsy Farmer gives a fantastic,subtle performance as Wells,thanks to Farmer revealing Wells quick-wits by peeling away her timed skin,as Wells goes on the hunt for the hunters.

Coventry "La Traque" is an undeservedly obscure French drama/thriller that is incredibly tense, intelligent, compelling and unpredictable. The title, plot synopsis and awesome movie poster make you assume that this is another variant on the "The Most Dangerous Game" in combination with "Straw Dogs" or "Deliverance", but the film is much more than that. It's a dreary Sunday and a bunch of macho males gather in the countryside for an afternoon of wild boar hunting. The group of acquaintances (I really wouldn't refer to them as close friends) exists of prominent aristocrats, like a land owner and an aspiring senator, as well as middle class guys, like a pair of car mechanic brothers and a former military man. During the hunt, the Danville brothers encounter Helen Wells, a beautiful English tourist searching for a country cottage to rent during the holidays. They viciously rape the defenseless poor girl, but she manages to wound Paul Danville and flee into the forest. Although none of the other hunting party members is responsible for what happened, they all have their own dark secrets and absolutely want to avoid getting linked to a scandal. Therefore, rather than helping Helen, they decide to collectively track her down and silence her. The acts and decisions taken by the lead characters may seem illogical and revolting, but they're actually very realistic and plausible. In fact, "La Traque" is much more of a social character study instead of a rancid backwoods thriller. Real human beings are much more cowardly and self-protective than the heroes depicted in movies, as illustrated in the unforgettably bleak finale. The atmosphere of the film is thoroughly grim and depressing, with fantastic exterior locations and powerful camera-work. The all-star cast is sublime, with particularly Mimsy Farmer, Michael Longsdale and Jean-Pierre Marielle giving away solid performances. I'm not too familiar with the repertoire of director Serge Leroy, but solely based on his surefooted direction here, I already added two of his other potentially great sounding films on my must-see list.

CurtHerzstark During the 70's some of the most wellknown films in the subgenre commonly referred to as rape & revenge were made. Films like I Spit on Your Grave(1978), Thriller - en grym film (1974), The Last House on the Left (1972)and countless others.The genre is still alive and well thanks to some bigbudget remakes of above mentioned films. La traque (1975)however is rape & revenge that is above genre standard and separates itself by using some very dark reflections on society and social criticism.The story is simple, about a group men from all walks of life, one is a politician, another is a former captain in the army, scrap dealers etc. Basically this group of men becomes a sort of microcosmos of the world in general and society.But when one of them during the hunt while intoxicated, rapes an English girl who is just a tourist, things go from bad to even worse...There are some sad truths being said about men, sexism, misogyny and also what group pressure can do to people. Having the Milgram experiment in the back of your mind while watching this film is important.But the film also exposes some of the dark secrets these men have. How they stab each other in the back, use various secrets against each other in order to preserve control over a situation that is quickly spiraling out of control.The film also poses an interesting question to the viewers watching this film, what would you do? And how would your friends react?And the fact that some of these men are on the outside well respected, ordinary, men but during these circumstances chooses to be more brutal then the animals they are hunting, makes this film with a very dark look on humanity.Director Serge Leroy have chosen a very good cast, with people like Michael Lonsdale, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jean-Luc Bideau as some of the members of the hunting party. They look and feel very genuine in their roles, their acting flawless.Biggest flaw in this film is Mimsy Farmers role, she is simple the prey, but plays this part with anger, ear and passion in the right amount.So future viewers who want a darker more complex, rape & revenge film with sharp stab at society, gender etc should seek this one out.

kinsayder A group of friends meet to hunt boar in the woods. They encounter a young woman and one of them rapes her. The others decide to do whatever it takes to conceal the crime.There are two hunts going on here. There are the "respectable men" hunting down a defenceless young woman. And then there is director Serge Leroy hunting down the aforementioned respectables to expose the amoral logic and cold-blooded brutality underpinning their social position.The simple story is told with great skill. The tension builds grimly as each man acquiesces to the crime that's unfolding and we realise there's less and less hope for the unfortunate girl. Along the way, we learn more about the hunters: how one of them accidentally killed before and concealed it to avoid a scandal; how another had to pursue and kill a traitor (a woman) in the Resistance. Another is a politician with much to lose if the woman talks; another is an ex-army captain, trained to kill; another is simply a coward. The girl, meanwhile, remains largely unknown to us, as defenceless and pathetic as the animals they casually slaughter.There have been innumerable horror films in which faceless psychopaths pursue women to their deaths. What makes "La Traque" all the more unnerving is that the faces of these hunters are all too familiar. They are the faces of politicians, landowners, war heroes, pillars of the Establishment (and Leroy carefully chooses actors who have played such respectable types in other films). Their actions derive not from a loss of control, but from an excess of it: these are men who have learnt to suppress human compassion when necessary to achieve their goals in life. And murder is the logical consequence of that.Part of the discomfort of watching this film is the sensation of being asked, "Would your friends and neighbours act differently under the same circumstances? Would you?"