La Traque

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.

"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.

You think you know grim and then a film like this comes along. A rape revenge film where there's not much revenge and not even much rape, but plenty of scenes were men give in to peer pressure and take the easy route out of a bad situation.

Somewhere in France, Mimsy Farmer is looking to buy or at least rent a house, but instead finds herself right in the middle of hunting season. At first she's quite taken by the place, but soon finds that there are lecherous men around who wouldn't mind putting the moves on her. Let's get to this complicated bunch of characters....now!

There's Mansarat, a man who is having an affair with his friend David's wife. David is a wealthy landowner. Then there's Clamoud, a bungling bunch of nerves, and Rollin, a sober Christian who disapproves of everything. And the Danville brothers - mechanics who like to drink and are the ones who set the whole horror show in motion by raping Mimsy in a destroyed building in the middle of a hunt.

Problem being, Chamoud or Clamoud or whatever has forgotten his gun at the scene of the crime, and when one of the rapist brothers goes back to get it, Mimsy shoots a hole in his gut. Thus begins a series of events involving a lady on the run and a bunch of dour-faced Frenchmen trying to track her down.

I guess the theme of the film, except for 'never go to France for any reason at all' is complacency and the group mind. Only one man commits the rape, but for various reasons each fellow present is complacent in the violence and the subsequent events. It's a good film, but not an easy watch. Kudos to Mimsy Farmer for having minimal dialogue but bring true horror to the screen.

I see only 11 reviews and 839 ratings and that's a shame because this is a good movie. I wouldn't call it a hidden gem neither a MUST WATCH movie but it's underappreciated for sure : A good 70's drama/thriller, well directed and well acted which made me invested and kept my attention until its ending. Characters felt real, not cartoonish and fake like characters from similar movies, they had a background and the story overall was convincing.

It's not enjoyable and this has nothing to do with revenge movies, in which the victim is turning into John Rambo. To be honest, i would prefer a different ending, but this ending is strong and that's what differentiates this movie from similar, totally unrealistic movies. The last scene, with the credits roll and this particular music, will stay with me for some time.

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.