MovieChat Forums > Calvaire (2005) Discussion > Calvaire

Calvaire

posted 9 years ago by evejeffrey1
3 replies | jump to latest

I think a lot of people who call this film 'boring' or even 'deliberately trying to shock’ are missing the point of it. The fact is, it's not necessarily even a 'horror' film. In my modest opinion it is a film about suffering and salvation, which it is why it is called 'Calvaire' equating to Calvary and the Via Dolorosa, the Journey of Christ to his crucifixion (I am an atheist, I am simply looking at some of the frames of reference in the narrative and its visual imagery, such as the obvious statue of Jesus on the cross at the end). The film examines bereavement and suffering and that process of grieving that is numbing, tedious and claustrophobic and it’s only right that the viewer needs to be drawn into that state of inertia. Yes. That is boring. Bereavement is. Robert has lost his wife and is looking for a replacement - often called an 'abnormal grief reaction'. Marc is a creative who feels he has sacrificed his talents to perform in care homes and is clearly missing a partner (why does he keep the photos that the lady of the house gives to him? It is clear that he is lonely too). These two men with crucial ‘absences’ collide and the ‘lack’ in their lives gives way to this nightmarish situation. I don’t find it strange at all that when Robert is drowning at the end he asks Marc to tell him that he loves him and Marc does so. Marc ultimately has compassion and doesn’t want to leave a dying man without hope of salvation at all, similar to the scene in ‘Atonement’ where the dying soldier mistakes his nurse for his lover and asks her if she loves him, and out of compassion she says that she does. These moments are about humanity. I found the most boring scenes in ‘Calvaire’ the ones that everyone champions – the bar scene was unnecessary, it’s clear the village is isolated and the pig scene just seemed gratuitous (I am not squeamish, I love a good disturbing horror but these elements seemed at odds to me in terms of the intelligent narrative of the film). For me, the most disturbing thing in the film was seeing two very damaged males trying to negotiate their suffering and going through their own calvaries. Yes, one arguably inflicts their own suffering on the other but I really felt the film had much to say about loss, thwarted ambition and grieving.

[–] stijn-picavet 9 years ago

It hurts me to see so many people come here and totally destroy this movie, so I'm happy to see someone who gets it. It's clear that Calvaire wasn't made to please anybody, but rather to convey something. There aren't too many movies out there that - to me anyway - are as powerful as this one. I used to go on holiday in the High Fens (where Calvaire was filmed), so possibly a large part of its appeal comes from seeing an idyllic setting from my youth transformed into a living hell. So when I first saw it some years ago I was almost literally blown away. For a few hours it made me feel depressed and I felt gloomy for a few weeks. In my opinion, that's what a true work of art does: it alters your state of mind. Doesn't matter if it's in a good way or a bad way. I can honestly think of only three other movies that have had that kind of impact on me: Jurassic Park and The Last Crusade (Spielberg really enchanted me when I was a kid...) and Once Upon a Time in America (probably had the only characters that ever felt 'real' to me). Movies like Calvaire almost make me proud to be Belgian.

[–] seth-shaw23 9 years ago

Just saw this film for the first time a few nights ago. I didn't think it was boring at all and instead was incredibly engaged the whole time. Very depressing movie with bad people doing bad things. The film is very effective without trying to gross you out and although I may not watch it again, I certainly won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

[–] bloodymaryhorror 8 years ago

I'm atheist also. My very first impression when trying to understand the title and the crucifixion reference was the fact that animal sacrifices (calves?) were required until Jesus appeared and became the replacement sacrifice. Seemed to be what happened in the movie, except with rape instead of killing.