Calvaire: The Ordeal
by Fabrice Du Welz
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brigitte Lahaie, Gigi Coursigny, Jackie Berroyer, Jean-Luc Couchard, Laurent LucasDirector: Fabrice Du Welz
Brand: Uni
Writer: Fabrice Du Welz
Producer: Donato Rotunno
Producer: Eddy Géradon-Luyckx
Producer: Guillaume Malandrin
Producer: Michael Gentile
Producer: Philippe Kauffmann
Writer: Romain Protat
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-10-03
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: PALM3120
Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Product features:
- In the tradition of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PSYCHO and DELIVERANCE comes this chilling Belgian horror that pushes the limits of shock filmmaking. Director and co-writer Fabrice Du Welz masterfully evokes a sense of deeply disturbing terror as Marc Stevens world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. When his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry, he s forced to seek refuge in a ru
Movie Reviews of Calvaire: The Ordeal
Movie Review: a true shocker without all the gore
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a movie for gore-hounds; in fact, the camera shies away from most of the violence. Instead, this film resonates in more creepy and psychological ways. There are scenes that will stay with you and they are not graphically violent but deeply violent all the same. The extremely disturbing dancing scene of the villagers and the pig squeals still haunt me.
As already noted, it is a tale about all the things that can go wrong once you leave your own protected environment. There is a reason why the backwoods are so scary (shades of Deliverance, French style). This movie is scary and the characters are among the creepiest. Bartel, the inn keeper, and the villagers are a freak show! Certain scenes were hard to watch. The cinematography was breathtaking and eerie all at once. Other scenes are left to the viewers imagination which can make things all the more chilling.
As a viewer, I was dying to know about the back drop of this story and the extras on this dvd did not help me. Obviously, there are no females in this remote village. How did this come to pass? Were the men a little off to begin with? or were they driven to this primal state by the lack of women? This factor is what drives The Ordeal of Marc Stevens. Why would Bartel have stayed with his wife in this village in the first place? It becomes clearer when Bartel confides that the villagers were not like him and Mr. Stevens. While this warns Mr. Stevens away from the villagers it also, we later discover, makes a very fine distinction between degrees of crazy. Very interesting movie.
Some believe this movie is about zombies but I would disagree. I think it's really a movie arguing the natural state of man. To paraphrase the great French philosopher Rousseau, the progression of the sciences and arts caused the corruption of virtue and morality in society. The consequences of this Village following Rousseau's "Social Contract" which recommended the return to nature and the whole "Naturalism" movement are horrific. The religious overtones (the whole nailing to the cross bit and following baser instincts leads to bad things) and shades of Lord of the Flies (what is the basic nature of man?) and plenty of other references all add up to a fascinating film not to be missed. Definitely a film to own rather then rent.
Summary of Calvaire: The Ordeal
In the tradition of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PSYCHO and DELIVERANCE comes this chilling Belgian horror that pushes the limits of shock filmmaking. Director and co-writer Fabrice Du Welz masterfully evokes a sense of deeply disturbing terror as Marc Stevens? world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. When his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry, he?s forced to seek refuge in a rural inn. Marc is taken in by Bartel, a lonely and psychologically fragile innkeeper who promises to help. But when Marc catches him dismantling his car, he realizes that the innkeeper has other plans for him ? sadistic plans that will push him to the bounds of human pain and suffering.Similar DVD Movies
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