La traque

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.

"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.

'La Traque' (1975) aka 'The Track' is a hugely effective and robustly-made Gallic hybrid of 'The Most Dangerous Game', darkly seasoned with a salacious soupcon of Peckinpah's immaculate 'Straw Dog's. The blistering and uncompromising 'La Traque' includes a bravura cast of notable French character actors, with an especially sympathetic portrayal of the desperate victim by personal favourite, Mimsy Farmer. Talented Director, Serge Leroy, keeps the swelteringly oppressive tension ratchet-tight, and unlike many other similarly lurid thrillers of that most gloriously exploitative epoch, he also pays a great deal of attention to the welcome merits of solid characterization. 'La Traque' is quite a special film indeed, and its cracking Giallo-esque score by gifted composer, Giancarlo Chiaramello should be vastly appealing to most, if not all, Euro-cult soundtrack collectors/aficionados; and one must also herald the truly brilliant, evocative, visually astute photography of one, Claude Renoir, and his canny use of hand-held cameras in the breathlessly exhilarating forest chase being particularly striking. 'La Traque' (1975) is yet another exquisite exemplar from the heady 70s that remains unjustifiably obscure today. This tremendously exciting, uncompromisingly bleak film is highly recommended, and, for me, its continued obscurity is wholly unjustified!

Serge Leroy has never been a great director but this one is arguably his best.A group of notables go hunting in the woods.A young girl (Mimsy Farmer,who was the star of "More") ,becomes their victim."La traque" (tracking) is not a misnomer cause the girl is tracked down all along the movie which includes violence and murder.It could have been an umpteenth version of "the most dangerous game" ,it is actually much more.Leroy beats Chabrol at his own game when he shows ,as his colleague perhaps never did,how the bourgeois can get away with complete impunity.A solid cast,featuring some of the best actors of the time (Mickael Lonsdale,Jean-Pierre Marielle,Paul Crauchet,Michel Constantin..) gives the characters substance.And Claude Renoir's cinematography brilliantly enhances the silvan landscapes where the unfortunate heroine runs for her life.

A true gem, masterpiece, brilliant, intelligent, unusual, nasty, disturbing, realistic. A story as you have never seen before and never see after this one. How can we compare this with THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME? It is more subtle, because not an ordinary action film, with good guys vs evil ones. Here, you slowly but surely find out that everyone is nasty, it is the true picture of what the ordinary citizen is ready to do to save his own skin. The tension grows, increases more and more along this absolute must see film, before exploding in the most shocking sequence ever made without blood on the screen. Far more shocking than any other horror film. Because this is not a horror film, just the picture of the true horror that may exist in real life and not only in a movie theater. Horror of the soul, the human soul. Maybe you will vomit after the watching.