La Mante

A rather off-beat delight from Belgium, Praying Mantis seemingly starts in a merely quirky manner before fully morphing into a somewhat chaotic supernatural story.

Admittedly I didn't realize there were supernatural themes before seeing the movie but having them come as a surprise probably added to the story which is, at face value, simple enough: a man meets a strange woman on the side of the road, takes her home and they start a relationship of sorts. But she is not what she seems and despite an obvious affection for him rebuffs his sexual advances only to accept a rogue into her 'bed' instead. But who is the real predator here? Well of course SHE is.

Although the film fails to make a lot of things clear and leaves a number of questions unanswered, the overall storyline is quite compelling as it really is an exploration of people's emotions and their reactions to their desires and love. From the besotted 'hero' willing to give up everything even once he discovers the truth, to the poor girlfriend of the local daredevil who will sleep with anything and anyone, it's an interesting emotional montage.

However probably my favourite part of this flick is the simply delightful initial sex scene where the director flexes his creative muscles to emphasise not only the predatory nature of his femme fatale but the similarities between human mating and the mating dances of animals. A seemingly playful blindfolded foreplay descends into a choreographed dance that is part animal, part graceful ballet. You almost forget the nudity it's so well done.

It's a theme that is later repeated in the background in one of the more surreal cinematic moments of all-time: where we have our hero playing the cello in the snow (during a heatwave) while his love cavorts ballet-style naked with her lover in a greenhouse in the background. Very impressive.

Overall this was an intriguing and enjoyable experience. So much so that you're willing to overlook the lack of explanation of a few key elements such as her background (probably not necessary in truth), the hero's discovery of his own corpse, and the seeming discordant chronology with our woodnymph/siren/succubus.

Still it's worthwhile seeing if you enjoy movies willing to look at people and their emotions and discard Hollywood formulae.

Although this is a Belgian production, it shares a common flaw with some French fantasy / action / thriller movies: it's not satisfied with just being a good genre picture, no; it has to be "ART" too. Therefore, we get moments of nonsensical character behavior and downright stupidity to rival any American B-movie, mixed with a tedious pretentiousness that has the characters speaking slowly and saying things like "I met her up north....or was it up north?" (I don't know buddy, keep a note next time, alright?) and "I feel like a climber with an abyss below me". The result of the mix is not pretty at all. The only redeeming features of "The Praying Mantis" are the attractive woodsy locations, and the mysterious, ethereal beauty of the female lead, Lou Broclain (and she must be quite brave, too: at one point, she lets a real live tarantula walk all over her!). Sadly, this movie appears to have killed her career before it really had a chance to flower. (*)

While driving through the south of Belgium, the violoncellist Julien (Yann Chely) meets the mysterious and gorgeous Sylvia (Lou Broclain) on the road and he immediately has a crush on her. They move together to his huge house and Julien builds a greenhouse for Sylvia in the field of his real state, where becomes her favorite place. One day, Sylvia has a strange behavior with Julien and asks him to stay alone at home. When Julien leaves the house, she goes to a construction nearby her property and brings to her house the daredevil biker Patrick (Sacha Kollich) that is working in the building, playing erotic games with him. When Julien returns home, he surprises the couple having sex and the upset Julien leaves the place, going to the house of his friend and also musician Jean (Serge Swysen). But Julien is consumed by his passion for Sylvia, and when she tells him that she loves him, he understands her predatory need of life force of her mate.

"Le Festin de la Mante" is a flawed, but refreshing and intriguing supernatural romance. The story of a "mantis-woman" that needs to kill her mate after having sex, draining his force to survive, fails due to the lack of explanation about the breed of the woman, who recalls a terrestrial siren. But the romance is beautiful, with Sylvia falling in love for Julien and trying to spare him from his fatal fate, using a stranger to fulfill her needs. The cast is completely unknown, but the performances of Lou Broclain and Yann Chely are great. Lou Broclain is a very beautiful woman and fits perfectly to her sexy and mysterious character. I liked this B-movie, which is recommended for specific audiences only. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Irracional – Uma Paixão Devoradora" ("Irrational – A Devourer Passion")