Belgium, France 2021. Regie Arnaud Malherbe. actor: Ana Girardot, Giovanni Pucci, Samuel Jouy, Yannik Mazzilli, Fabien Houssaye
Official synopsis: Jules, eight, and his mother Chloé have just arrived in the French countryside. To start a new life away from the shocks of the past, Chloé accepted the position of village teacher. However, the move from the city means a big change and even the villagers view the newcomers with skepticism. Since the inexplicable disappearance of a boy, the small, close-knit community has not found peace. The fear of a beast turns. Doctor Mathieu, on the other hand, immediately makes advances to the attractive Chloé as she tries to put Jules in his place in increasingly offensive ways. Jules is soon convinced: Mathieu is the beast who has it with children, and he and his mother are in grave danger.
criticism: I’m so tired. I can no longer see the old houses where the steps creak and the patterned wallpaper on the folds of the wall. Where people always make their way in the dark at night instead of turning on that damn light. Children who always look away and refuse to communicate. The silent suffering endured was hinted at in whispered conversations. The world as a vale of tears, where every beginning of darkness opens the door to spiritual emptiness.
OGRE should be talking about an OGER, crucified! So why is it about a young teacher who has been beaten up by her ex and is looking for a fresh start? Why do we constantly watch Jules, who is autistic, turn his hearing aid on and off without consequences? Why is Chloé and Mathieu’s budding relationship given more space than anything that can create any form of tension?
Of course, the ogre is just a metaphor, a parable, or any other stylistic device that could correctly be called here. It means overcoming the fear of the new, the toxic masculinity of the dark, to find one’s strength. With the ogre, Jules conquers his past and opens his childhood world to the possibility of a new father figure.
Ogre screentime: Approximately 40 seconds.
I’m so tired. Where are the films that rejoice in their locations, that tell of heroes who immerse themselves in stories and see the fantasy genre as a playground and not a cemetery? Not here it seems.
Conclusion: A very obvious allegory and once again told in a slowly paralyzing way, which in the finale then swings into occult territory. Too little and too late. 5 out of 10 points.
Frankster thinks: “The psychological horror from France as seen by a boy struggling with major life changes.”
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