Themroc (1973) – review

French language surrealist comedy directed by Claude Faraldo and starring Michel Piccoli.

This movie is kind of insane. They really said All Cops Are BBQ

A working class man rebels against bourgeois society and all of its trappings by reverting (devolving) into an animalistic/caveman state in this anarchist/surrealist social satire.

The main way this is conveyed is through the “dialogue” in that there is none. Every spoken bit in the entire movie is done with grunts, yells, moans, noises.

Michel Piccoli is so feral here. I’ve never seen an acting performance like it. Imagine a wolfman movie with him. At times I was reminded of the wrestler George “The Animal” Steele. I also thought of Jack Nicholson in Wolf. Piccoli has a scene where he puts himself in the confined space of a bathroom stall and proceeds to freak out and literally climb the walls that was unbelievable to watch.

He eventually returns home and turns his room into a literal cave to live in (Insert man cave joke here). The neighbors in adjacent buildings see all of this play out and respond in varying ways. Some join in on the reversion, others are confused, and some are nosy.

There is a chauvinistic streak that holds the entire thing back but many of its satirical jabs land squarely. An extended sequence where the police (ie: a tool of the state used to enforce social norms) show up and try to use blunt force (their main tool) to stop things from happening is particularly harrowing. Especially how some of them seize the chaos of the moment to indulge in their own acts of assault and sexual violence.

Imperfect but unlike anything else. I can’t stop thinking about it. I mean shit, they literally kill a cop, cut him to pieces, roast him over a fire, and eat him.

Positive/recommended