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Simply Perfect

From my favorite movies..

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Whilst being in the midst of watching 100 French films over 100 days I have been in the mood of seeing a Giallo related movie.Being a fan of the actress from the ultra-stylish gialli Four Flies on Grey Velvet and the utterly bonkers The Black Cat,I was delighted to spot Giallo star Mimsy Farmer in a gritty French movie,which led to me getting ready to go on the hunt.The plot:Meeting up in the woods,a group of 7 men get set to go hunting for pigs in the woods.Missing her train, Helen Wells looks for a place to stay.Whilst walking round in the woods,Wells is spotted by some of the men,who corner Wells and rape her.Throwing Wells to the side like trash,one of the men discovers that he dropped his gun at the scene.Returning to get the gun,the gang soon discover that Wells has made the hunters become the hunted.View on the film:Although the audio sounds like its been smacked on a cheese grater,the dialogue in co-writer/(along with André G. Brunelin) director Serge Leroy's screenplay is still able to give the viewer a good,nasty jab,due to the confrontation manner that the guys talk about Wells revealing all of them as upper-crust dogs.Bringing the rape/revenge "Horror" genre to the middle class,the writers attack the bourgeoisie with an unrelenting ruthlessness,by making each of the gang members suffocate their disguise of the rape,so that their image of being "trusted" members of the elite can be kept as a mask.Largely shot in the outdoors,director Leroy & cinematographer Claude Renoir capture the rugged terrain in grainy,sawn-off tracking shots which wraps the title in a thrilling uneasy atmosphere,as Wells tries to outmatch the hunters.Joined by the excellent,mean spirited gang whose members include Michael Lonsdale and Jean-Pierre Marielle, Mimsy Farmer gives a fantastic,subtle performance as Wells,thanks to Farmer revealing Wells quick-wits by peeling away her timed skin,as Wells goes on the hunt for the hunters.

Hugely effective and robust French hybrid of 'The Most Dangerous Game', seasoned with a soupcon of '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 victim by personal favorite Mimsy Farmer. Serge Leroy keeps the tension ratchet-tight, and unlike many other similarly lurid thrillers of that most exploitative epoch he also pays a great deal of attention to the merits of solid characterization. 'La Traque' is Quite a special film indeed and its cracking Giallo-esque score by Giancarlo Chiaramello should be appealing to most euro-cult soundtrack obsessives; one must also mention the brilliant and evocative photography of one Claude Renoir. (The use of hand-held camera's in the forest chase being particularly striking) Yet another exemplar from the heady 70's that remains unjustifiably obscure)

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.