Le Boucher

Le Boucher English The Butcher is a 1970 French thriller film written and directed by Claude Chabrol. The film had a total of 1,148,554 admissions in France.

Chabrol plays on conventionality, as it is represented in film. The distinctions between murderer and victim are at times blurred. The ideal small community that Chabrol establishes seems to mirror so many others and the characters he uses represent the eroding authenticity that is characteristic in films which seek to capture an old world feel. Popaul comes across as an innocent, laidback, simple butcher, who mentions his experiences in Algeria and Indochina repeatedly. Hlne is admired in the community for her selfless dedication to children she forgoes a personal life for servitude. Chabrol hints that these characters are not as they seem. Repression and representation seem to be themes Chabrol works with in the film. In confronting repression and representation as Chabrol does, a character, who seems as altruistic as Hlne, takes on a new connotation. Little does Hlne realise that she is driving Popaul to these acts, leaving him stranded with his demons and selfdisgust.Even before he met Hlne, Popaul was tortured. Towards the end of the film, he delivers a soliloquy that allows the viewer to sympathize with him ........

Source: Wikipedia