---A WARNING---
its not often I dip into the French Extreme genre because... well... its a bit to extreme for casual viewing. Rape revenge is also something I try and avoid if possible, so this is going to be a real nasty double whammy. so be warned, this review will be full of subjects like father sexually abusing there children, plenty of extreme homophobia, transphobia, gut wrenching depictions of sexual/normal assault, racism, plenty of cringe worthy gore, and plenty more. if that isn't something you want to hear about, I have dozens of far more fun reviews.
---REVIEW TIME THOTS BUCKLE UP---
MARTYRS is one of the most difficult to watch movies I have ever seen, INSIDE was gut wrenchingly brutal, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for with this movie. at least that's what I thought. man I have very rarely been this nervous to hit play
Events over the course of one traumatic night (and a full nine minutes) in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass, and subsequently seeks revenge upon her assailant.
the opening of this movie feels almost whimsical with its camera work, but as soon as somebody starts talking shit gets nasty. incest, assault, 2002 levels of extreme homophobia, and we haven't even passed the 10 minute mark yet. I could spend the whole review talking about just how fucked up this movie is and continues to be, but that seems like a waste of time. I have already given you plenty of reasons not to watch this movie, but i assure you this movie is worth watching for the incredible directing alone. you know that lovely scene in FIRE WALK WITH ME in the Pink Room? the first 30 minutes feel straight out of the pink room. the music and camera work together to make the movie feel just as fast paced and disorientating as the characters POV. It doesn't feel like a movie that someone is directing, it feels like the camera man is right there with the characters.
and now lets take about the scene that made me almost cry. because this plays out in reverse, you spend the first 40 minutes of this movie watching someone fight like hell for revenge. it makes you ponder exactly what set him on this insanely violent path to revenge, since he never saw the rape happen. the scene that made me almost cry is when you see Alex for the first time, and just how savagely she has been assaulted. the scene is made even more powerful by Vincent Cassel's acting as Marcus, and his cries of agony are Toni Collet levels of agonizing.
as for the rape scene, its the closest thing to the dictionary definition of evil I can imagine. i took out my headphones for almost all of it.
long story short, I really enjoy this movie. it set out to be an effective rape revenge movie, and nobody can argue that it didn't succeed. subject matter like this should always make you uncomfortable, and I think avoiding making films about taboo subjects such as this is simply ignoring reality in favor of the boredom of censorship. filmmakers are constantly forced to follow certain rules to have there films shown to the widest possible audience, and it's movies that are free from those rules that are the most effective.
so if you really want to dive into subjects like rape/revenge, sexual cannibalism, suppressed lesbianism the transformative power of pain, or a good old fashion pregnant lady home invasion, the French extreme genre has you covered.
wow/10
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