☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Le Boucher (1970) -- C. Chabrol
I'm persuaded that there is more than meets the eye in this Hitchcockian film from Claude Chabrol. For some reason, there is ominous music in some scenes between the Butcher and the Schoolmistress, even when nothing disturbing seems to be going on. They seem to be courting, after meeting at a wedding -- until she stops him cold by indicating that she has forsaken love and romance due to a 10-year-old heartbreak. Yes, he is a rather morose character, always talking about the horrors he saw during a 15 year tour of duty in Algeria and Indochina. When grisly murders start to occur, the Butcher is our only suspect. Does the Schoolmistress think so too? There are suggestions that she does, but she doesn't turn him in. So, deeper, below the surface, Chabrol is interrogating this odd relationship between two types, possibly suggesting strong mutual influences -- the withholding or desire for sex seems important -- even on the murders. But even if there is nothing here but dimestore psychology, the beautiful environs of the Dordogne region of France are splendid to look at.
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