Réalisation:
Coralie FargeatScénario:
Coralie FargeatPhotographie:
Robrecht HeyvaertMusique:
RobVOD (1)
Résumés(1)
Trois riches chefs d’entreprise, mariés et bons pères de famille, se retrouvent pour leur partie de chasse annuelle dans une zone désertique de canyons. Mais cette fois, l’un d’eux est venu avec sa jeune maîtresse, une lolita ultra sexy qui attise rapidement la convoitise des deux autres... Les choses dérapent... Dans l'enfer du désert, la jeune femme laissée pour morte, reprend vie... et la partie de chasse se transforme en une impitoyable chasse à l'homme... (Rezo Films)
(plus)Critiques (9)
Une escapade amusante et exploitante en français de la Californie désertique. Formellement attrayant, extrêmement brutal et surtout avec une bande son gourmande comme dans les films d'horreur italiens. La forme y est cependant privilégiée un peu trop. Le scénario aurait pu exploiter plus ingénieusement l'environnement et ne pas perdre de temps avec des scènes inutiles et surtout absurdes (incendie d'un arbre, états névrotiques d'un des agresseurs, etc.). [Sitges FF]
()
SPOILERS AHEAD (though most of the essential bits are revealed in the trailer). Revenge is a stylish and intense ecofeminist rape-revenge flick whose protagonist could be the younger sister of Furiosa from the last Mad Max (rather than the new Lara Croft, who isn’t nearly so cool). Coralie Fargeat does not deny her heroine the right to behave provocatively, but she definitely does not claim to be responsible for the rape either (as indicated by the person from whom she would expect support and who turns out to be the cruellest bastard). Fault lies solely with the frustration of a man who needs to assert his dominance. The only witness to the crime, which basically takes place in the environment of home, pretends not to see or hear anything. Similarly, all evidence of the rape is subsequently destroyed, as if it had never happened, which is still rather characteristic of society’s approach to sex crimes. ___ In any case, the extreme experience initiates the woman’s transformation from a sexy object into an agent. (In the conclusion, particularly during an extraordinarily long one-shot walk through the house, when together with the hitherto fearless male antagonist we are afraid of what might be lying in wait around the corner, the object becomes a [completely nude] man.) During most of the film, however, she acts frightened, occasionally bursting into tears and the recoil of first rifle shot throws her back several feet. In short, she is not an inhumanly infallible and cold-blooded murderer, even after she becomes an avenger. At the same time, however, she can bear more than an ordinary mortal, thanks to which she can properly exact bloody revenge. ___ The varying degree of her vulnerability corresponds to the needs of the narrative rather than to reality. Nit-pickers who do not recognise the ontological peculiarity of the fictional world may object that if a twenty-six-year-old woman loses so much blood, she is done for (not to mention the impossibility of her other actions), but dealing with realism in a deliberately exaggerated exploitation flick (offering, among other things, a splatter homage to the scene in Die Hard in which McClane pulls glass shards out of his foot) seems rather misguided to me. Similarly out of line are criticisms about the predictability of the story, which is basically summarised by its one-word title. What happens isn’t important, because we already know what happens (and the director knows that we know and therefore constantly plays with conventions and the viewers’ expectations); what’s important is how it looks. ___ Revenge is one of those films in which even a shot of a corpse with its eyes gouged out floating on the surface looks “nice” and you want to enjoy it for a moment (which you can do thanks also to the unusually long duration of the shots). Subjective perspectives, large details in addition to large units, the visceral effect enhancing amplified sounds, ironic cuts from one event to another... Besides some extreme European and Belgian horror movies, the film is artistically reminiscent of the work of Tom Ford or Nicolas Winding Refn and, furthermore, has a perfect soundtrack from the person who created the no less wonderful music for the remake of Maniac. Therefore, it is a pleasure to just watch and listen to it. ___ If that’s not enough for you, you can consider the film’s biblical symbolism (the bitten apple of sin, the protagonist’s rebirth begins with a burning bush and she blinds her first victim) and the conflict between technology and nature. On the one hand, there are men with their cars, walkie-talkies and guns who rape women and hunt animals (and drown spiders in their urine). They subjugate the world around them and destroy it. On the other hand, the woman is gradually helped by fire, water and the “Indian drug” peyote, under the influence of which she brands herself on her abdomen with an eagle from a beer can in one of the film’s wildest scenes, which stylishly begins with Mozart. The technology repeatedly lets her down (she runs out of gas on the four-wheeler, the first rifle is not loaded, the second sends her flying). She does not conquer the landscape, but rather blends into it and draws from it the strength that had been taken from her by men. ___ If you do not approach Revenge as a silly B-movie from the outset, you will find that it is a relatively clever film from a director who learned from (especially) European exploitation flicks and is not afraid to touch a raw nerve. I’m quite curious as to what she will make next. I highly recommend Revenge, especially to horror fans. Viewers who have the compulsive need to express their alleged intellectual superiority by laughing out loud even during scenes that are supposed to be serious would be well advised to stay home. 80%
()
(moins)
(plus)
I didn’t realise I was going to the prequel of The Immortal Aunt. Otherwise, it was fun.
()
It's nice to say that France is back! Revenge is another enjoyable addition to my all time favourite subgenre rape and revenge (I Spit on Your Grave is still unsurpassed, though). The film impresses especially with its excellent cinematography and beautiful visuals. The desert, the beautiful Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, who runs around the entire film in cut-off shorts covered in blood with a stick in her stomach and a sniper rifle in her hand, decent bad guys, nasty gore, a lot of unconventional retro disco music and a few standout scenes. The only problem is actually the not very explicit rape scene and the small body-count. Intellectuals and geeks may not get past the immortality of the main character and the almost minimal story, but everyone else will have a great time with this juicy sexy ride from France. 80%
()
A youthful version of Furiosa in a hyper-stylish package like Drive. There is plenty of violence, clouds of blood, brutality and a hypnotic soundtrack. If Gosling wore a cool jacket with a scorpion emblem, here the main character is sporting an eagle on her body. Of course, a lot of scenes don't have a very realistic undertone, but for fans of splatter, tough female protagonists and a specific formal style, this might be a fun festival one-off. Quite daring, but also quite bullshit.
()
In the details, imaginative and stylish, as a whole, captivating and without a single scene that would hit the viewer harder than its eye-candy potential. The transition between the opening sexy music video and R-rated revenge thriller is poorly scripted and underdeveloped, and there is a terrible lack of a higher level of naturalism that would have made at least the second half a much more painful experience (at times I had to laugh due to the overacting of the bad guys in suspenseful or violent scenes). On the other hand, it’s the novel form and cool electronic music that turn every minute into likeable B-movie entertainment, along with the unstable bad guy that looks like Eli Wallach and, of course, Matilda, whom I would give similar roles twice a year – she would make even Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey accept the role of rapists :D 60%
()
Avant de me lancer dans la critique de ce film, permettez-moi une remarque : si vous avez vu la bande-annonce à l’avance, vous connaissez déjà 80 % de l’histoire, y compris la scène finale. C’est la raison pour laquelle je ne regarde pas les bandes-annonces. Mais que faire quand on s’en ramasse une au cinéma juste avant un autre film ? Les créateurs de ce genre de teasers ne méritent que d’être lynchés ! Pour ce qui est du film lui-même et sans compter le montage vraiment médiocre, j’ai regretté qu’il se limite totalement à un show visuel autotélique. L’intrigue, avec sa nature élémentaire, est tellement conditionnée par la recherche d’une esthétique plaisante que certains tronçons de scènes ne riment absolument à rien et ne sont là que pour permettre au réalisateur de nous montrer un plan réussi (l’arbre en feu). Puis, il y a les scènes qui ne riment à rien non plus, mais qui, cette fois, servent juste de béquilles pour faire avancer l’histoire. Par exemple, l’un des personnages masculins éprouve le besoin pressant d'inspecter son nez cassé dans le miroir, sauf qu’au lieu de se contenter de bêtement se regarder dans l'un des rétroviseurs de sa voiture, il décide d’aller chercher un miroir de poche dans le coffre, lequel émet un reflet qui trahit son emplacement aux yeux de l’héroïne vengeresse. Pas de quoi en faire un plat, me direz-vous ? Eh bien moi, ça me perturbe. Si ce genre d’éléments illogiques faisaient partie des hallucinations de l’héroïne sous l’effet de la drogue, ce serait différent et ce serait excusable ; malheureusement, ils sont partout dans le film. D’accord, Revenge ne prétend pas être sophistiqué, mais quand l’utilisation de ces béquilles pour faire tourner l’intrigue de tout le film se voit comme le nez au milieu du visage, alors rien ne peut plus rattraper les dégâts – pas même l’esthétique soignée ou la musique électronique.
()
4 stars kind of out of starvation, but enthusiastically so. The core of Rape & Revenge hasn't changed over the years, it's just that the rapists are no longer degenerate rednecks, but degenerate, secure rich townies with families. The main bastard then is a catalogue hunk with a great body and an ass on his chin that would make Ben Affleck cry in the corner like a little girl. There's no longer a need for the whole herd of beasts to take turns at the splendor (© The Butcher), but just a single bastard, with the other guilty party choosing to ignore the rape and the third guilty party trying to cover it up. The girl, however, turns a blind eye to the out-of-court settlement and chooses a much more painful path, but with all that much more catharsis. The initial nuisance of an apparently low body count is offset by the sadistic glee of each kill. The characters have dozens of gallons of blood inside them, which come splashing out while you wait. Whereas in ordinary films a gunshot to the shoulder is practically a yawning affair that barely rips your shirt, here this kind of gunshot wound barfs up a good eight liters of hemoglobin, and this is by no means the close of the unfortunate man's fate. Removing a shard from your leg must be a great collective cinematic experience, the shotgun round the bloody mansion is really what I expect from a thriller, and the make-up artists have done a great job on all kinds of injuries. And yet I must concede that the 108 minutes really weren't necessary and the film often wriggles out of certain situations in a very funny way. Still, an avenger with a burnt-out phoenix on her belly from a Mexican beer can. I fucking love that. PS: It's nice to have a little wink in Ken Russell's direction.
()
Revenge is categorized as: action / thriller / horror. Do not believe any of that, the distributor is lying through his teeth. The two stars I gave the film are for the unintentional comedy, because it can’t be described as anything else. I've seen a lot, but such a nice navel piercing done by a tree, a shotgun which can accurately shoot to a 100-yard distance, and a 110-pound girl who doesn't have a cell phone in front of her adorable little face at all times, is something I’ve never seen before. In addition, the girl is more resilient than JCVD in his best 90s shape, pulling the above-mentioned piece of a tree from her body using just the tips of her three fingers (I’m sure she sticks her little finger up when sipping coffee) and acquires guerrilla fighting skills while unconscious or asleep. I sincerely pity any man who gets too close to the director/screenwriter. Two stars because I had some good hearty laughs.
()