A Very Disturbing Ordeal

Belgian filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz’s debut feature is a much needed shock to the system. Reminiscent of films like Deliverance and Straw Dogs, Calvaire (The Ordeal) mixes atmosphere, backwoods brutality, and a Lynch like sense of dread that takes the viewer on a journey into the minds of the beautifully disturbed.

When we first meet Calvaire’s protagonist, singer Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas) he is sitting in his dressing room putting on his stage makup, and after his performance he fends off sexual advances from an elderly fan as well as a middle aged woman. Both of these advances don’t seem to interest Marc in the least, not even the middle aged woman who incidentally is not unattractive. After fighting off the ladies he hit’s the road.

While on the road to his next gig his van breaks down in a very dreary village, and by this time thanks to the beautiful photography of Benoit Debie (Irreversible) atmosphere is dripping off of the screen. Marc meets up with Boris (Jean-Luc Couchard) who is looking for his dog, and is kind enough to take him to a nearby inn. At the inn Marc is greeted by the owner Bartel (Jackie Berroyer), and it’s all down hill from there.

Bartel seems nice enough at first, but it doesn’t take long for the lonely inn keeper to decide that Marc is really his long lost wife (who was evidently smart enough to get the fuck out of dodge), and that he has to keep him there forever. At the hands of Bartel, Marc endures numerous forms of torture and humiliation. Crucifixion, getting his hair chopped off, and even being forced to wear a dress are just a few examples.

Now once the villagers figure out that Bartel has a new hot piece of ass, they decide they want in on the action. A scene at the local pub that has Bartel threatening the villagers with a gun quickly turns into one of the oddest (Lynch would be proud) scenes I’ve ever seen. Not long after leaving the pub Bartel’s Inn is invaded by village backwoods hillbilly freaks that come in with guns blazing. And it turns out that Bartel’s nemesis Orton (Philippe Nahon) also thinks Marc is Bartel’s wife Gloria who he to happens to be in love with as well.

Poor Marc is beaten and raped by the pig fuckers (besides raping men in drag, they like to test out the ham every now and then) before finally getting away by duck walking (his ass hurts) through the chaos and into the surrealistic landscape. Only to be followed by the pig fuckers.

I’m not going to give away the ending, but I will say that it wasn’t expected. I also realized that every character besides Marc is just a different version of Bartel, which I thought was a nice touch. I enjoyed this sick little film, and I think most horror fans will also. I don’t think they reinvented the wheel, but it was a good try and creepy as hell. The directing was well above average, the acting was great, and the music was chilling.