Martyrs (film)
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| Martyrs | |
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| Directed by | Pascal Laugier |
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| Written by | Pascal Laugier |
| Starring | Morjana Alaoui Mylène Jampanoï |
| Distributed by | Canal Horizons (France) |
| Release date(s) |  September 3, 2008 April 28, 2009 (DVD) March 27 |
| Running time | 100 mins. |
| Country |  France Canada |
| Language | French |
| Budget | €2.8 million (US$4.36 million)[1] |
Martyrs is a French mystery-horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier. It was first screened during the 2008 Cannes Film Festival at the Marché du Film. The film was released in France publicly on September 3, 2008. The US rights for Martyrs were bought by the Weinstein Company and was released on DVD in April 2009.
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[edit] Plot
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The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (April 2009) |
A young girl, Lucie, is discovered near catatonic wandering by the side of a country road after being missing for over a year. It transpires she had been imprisoned in a disused slaughterhouse and consistently tortured, yet not sexually abused. She is placed in an orphanage where she is befriended by Anna. Anna discovers that Lucie is being harmed by a "creature".
Fifteen years later, Lucie bursts into a seemingly normal family's home and kills them all, claiming the parents were responsible for her childhood trauma. She is periodically attacked by the "creature" - actually a manifestation of her guilt over not saving another girl all those years ago.
Lucie calls Anna, who comes to the house to help her bury the bodies. Anna discovers the mother is still living and tries to help her escape, but is discovered by Lucie who kills the woman. Having realised her vengeance, the "creature" drives Lucie to kill herself. As Anna is clearing up the house, she discovers a secret underground chamber, imprisoned in which is a horribly mutilated woman. Anna attempts to care for her, but strangers arrive at the house and shoot the woman dead.
Captured by the newcomers, Anna meets their leader, an elderly lady named Mademoiselle. She explains that she belongs to a secret society seeking to discover the secrets of the afterlife through the creation of "martyrs". Systematic acts of torture are inflicted upon young women in the the belief that the extreme pain will result in a transcendental insight into the world beyond this one. So far they have been unsuccessful.
Anna is imprisoned in the chamber and becomes their latest subject. After an unspecified period, during which she is repeatedly beaten and tortured, she is told she has reached the "final stage". Anna is skinned, but survives to achieve transcendence. Mademoiselle arrives to bear witness to her description of the afterlife.
A group of wealthy people visit the house to celebrate the successful martyrdom. Instead of passing on Anna's words to the assembly, Mademoiselle shoots herself. An intertitle informs us that "martyr" is the Greek word for "witness".
[edit] Production
Director Laugier said that "the film was rejected by all the big French studios, by a lot of actresses, too. (...) The film was really supported by Canal+, the only television channel in France that still finances some unusual projects." He also comments that the main difficulty other than the technical issues such as special effects was to keep the actresses crying all the time, and that was too demanding.[2]
[edit] Reception
The film was categorized as a new example of new era French horror films akin to Inside with regards to the level of violence it depicts.[2][3] It received mostly positive reviews. Todd Brown at Twitch called it "without a doubt the single most devisive [sic] film to screen in the Cannes Marche Du Film this year",[4] while Ryan Rotten at shocktillyoudrop.com claims that the film "is the new yard stick against which all forms of extreme genre films should be measured against."[2]
The film received an 18+ rating in France (unsuitable for children under 18 or forbidden in cinemas for under 18s) which the producers of the film have appealed.[5][6] The French Society of Film Directors (SRF) have also asked the Ministry of Culture to re-examine the decision remarking that "this is the first time a French genre film has been threatened with such a rating." The Union of Film Journalists has adopted the same position as the SRF, claiming censorship.[7]
[edit] Cast
- Morjana Alaoui — Anna
- Mylène Jampanoï — Lucie
- Catherine Bégin — Mademoiselle
[edit] Remake
Pascal Laugier has confirmed in an interview that he is currently in the middle of negotiating the rights for Martyrs to be remade in America.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Lemercier, Fabien (2007-02-13). "Martyrs: A journey into the heart of darkness". cineuropa.org. http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?documentID=73116. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ a b c Rotten, Ryan (2008-06-23). "Exclusive Interview: Martyrs Director Pascal Laugier". shocktillyoudrop.com. http://shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=6654. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ Mr. Disgusting. "Martyrs". bloody-disgusting.com. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/review/2031. Retrieved on 2008-06-27.
- ^ Brown, Todd (2008-06-03). "Pascal Laugier’s MARTYRS Hit With 18+ Rating In France". twitchfilm.net. http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/pascal-laugiers-martyrs-hit-with-18-rating-in-france/. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ "Two teasers for Pascal Laugier's French horror flick MARTYRS". quietearth.us. 2008-06-12. http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2008/06/12/Two-teasers-for-Pascal-Laugiers-French-horror-flick-MARTYRS. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ "Les news de : Martyrs". Premiere (magazine). 2008-06-03. http://www.premiere.fr/film/martyrs/(affichage)/news#1308425. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ Lemercier, Fabien (2008-06-02). "Controversy over Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs". cineuropa.org. http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?lang=en&documentID=84543. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ Ain't It Cool News: Northlander interviews MARTYRS' Pascal Laugier - and he spills about his HELLRAISER remake!!
[edit] External links
- Official website (French)
- Martyrs vs Censorship, a Frederic Ambroisine documentary
- Martyrs (film) at Rotten Tomatoes
- Martyrs at the Internet Movie Database
- Martyrs at Allmovie
- Interview with Pascal Laugier about Martyrs at ion magazine
- Interview with Pascal Laugier about Martyrs at www.reviewgraveyard.com
[edit] See also
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