La Traque

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.