Maldoror

Fabrice du Welz's "Maldoror" is a brutal and unflinching dive into a world of moral decay. The film is a visceral and punishing experience. A relentless sense of dread and a suffocatingly grim atmosphere propel the narrative forward. Du Welz masterfully creates a claustrophobic and unsettling environment.

This is not a conventional horror or thriller. Instead, "Maldoror" functions as a psychological endurance test. It explores the darkest aspects of human nature with a cold, direct gaze. At 155 minutes, the film can feel long. However, its unflinching look at systemic issues and moral ambiguity is compelling. The film avoids simple answers. It meditates on how broken systems can push people toward questionable choices.

Is It Worth Watching? Yes, but with a strong warning. This film is a powerful and disturbing work of art. It is a skillfully crafted thriller for viewers who appreciate challenging, morally complex crime dramas. The heavy subject matter and extreme content demand emotional resilience. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.

So we watched it in French with Nederlands subtitles. I don't understand french and clearly my nederlands is not good enough on these subjects.

I also don't know much of the pedophiles and the police system in Belgium that happened in the 90s.

Is it good film? Not for me.

What it looked like was a film that followed some kind of police officer that was on the case for missing children.

He looks young and shows a good memory when he recalled 21 number plates after an incident with the other police department.

Although he is rather emotional and loses his temper a lot.

All the characters look rather incompetent.

Just hard to follow for me.

I won't add any more to not spoil it for you.

Another film that I have to recommend. Saw it yesterday. The film is based on real events. A very exciting film that lasts throughout the entire film. Very well-acted film by the entire ensemble and a wonderful reunion of actress Beatrice Dalle. Who dares to forget the film Betty Blue 37.2 sur le matin? Absolutely not me anyway. The film takes us through a police case that eluded Belgium for a time and the cooperation between different police districts that was not the best. The film is exciting throughout and very intense tension in some parts. Very worth seeing if you like this kind of films.

I know it should be called "if you can" ... and I reckon that would have worked too ... but I decided to go that way ... still no pun intended. The movie is based on a real story - and me not having any idea what happened back in the 90s ... and from what I understand this takes a lot of creative licenses ... with who did what to whom ... who survived and who didn't ... and I assume the main character (police/gendarmerie) is an amalgamation of many characters into one - I could obviously be wrong, but I would not be surprised if that was the case.

That said, the movie might be long (2,5 hours), but it never really feels that way. Well maybe during the wedding stuff at the beginning ... been there, done and know that. Greeks party similar - like the Italians ... is this necessary for the story? I would argue not ... but maybe I am missing something.

The thrilling part is really well done ... you feel with the main character ... a lot of things go wrong ... he has the right eye, he has the right "nose" ... but will he be able to convince others of that? A lot of departments working almost against each other ... this is well told and acted ... still for me a factor x is missing to make this go over the top ... as many praises as it has gotten ... and as good as it is ... the last push is missing ... a bit more charisma maybe ... more tension throughout ... and so forth.

Viewing at IFFR (I pet the director's dog)

6.5/10

The second half was pretty good. The lead character seemed better in his role and the camerawork was more suitable. A few moments were a great thrill because of the use of sound, music and different angles. Very well done.

Not too sure about the first part. The camerawork was too messy. Didn't feel like it was a serious movie about child molesters. Felt like a cheap thriller. The wedding felt a little ridiculous and I didn't think the lead character could carry a movie like this. I thought: bad casting, but, luckily, it got better!

Still not sure about the fiction part. Feels like I'm not taking this movie serious because of the partly fictionalized story. I doubt that would be the intention.