a.k.a Seul Contre Tous
Intensely bleak, this film is like Charles Bukowski or Louis-Ferdinand Céline going postal. Philippe Nahon perfectly plays an unnamed homophobic racist at the end of his tether. Rarely has there been a character this misanthropic in a leading role. He is however, easy to both relate to and feel sorry for and appealing in his utter down-and-out way. Opening sequences recap “Carne", the short film of which this is a sequel and we learn that he has reason enough for his nihilistic world view. His father died and his mother abandoned him, he worked as a horse meat butcher, fathered a mute daughter by a woman who left him and spent time in jail after thinking his daughter had been raped. Now he is unemployed and lives with an obese woman he hates (Frankyie Pain) who is pregnant with his child. He soon gets a gun and leaves her. The majority of the films dialogue consists of the butcher’s internal dialogue as voice-over. The scenery is almost post apocalyptic, poverty stricken but stylishly shot. The film frequently cuts to title cards that display a variety of messages. Reminiscent of certain grindhouse trailers, towards the films climax a title reads ‘Warning: You have 30 seconds to leave the screening of this film’ and the ending left me genuinely surprised. While it (narrowly) avoids pretension it also doesn’t really have that much to say. The Butcher makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of Noe's follow-up Irréversible, a film with similar appeal. Ultimately the film is more exciting than it is depressing.
4/5
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