This was the first foreign language film I remember watching and I was held spellbound by it. It's so subtle and the sense of menace and atmosphere is palpable. Watching it again recently I loved the almost Hitchcockian attention to the mood, but where Hitchcock focused on the more technical aspects of directing Chabrol, to me, focuses on the human psychology. This was what enthralled me as a teenager.
In a bulk standard Hollywood murder film there would have the suspense of the chase; the murder and intrigue, but when the thrill of the chase is over so is the film... When Le Boucher ends the viewer is left with a lot of questions with some uneasy answers and s/he has to provide his / her own interpretation on what has just happened. I never realised films could do that - most films I'd seen had big concepts and only one resolution. This films looks at how the murders affect the town itself, and in particular the local teacher, is far more subtle and, therefore, rewarding when the story is resolved (and boy, is it resolved!).
This is a hauntingly brilliant film, one that certainly deserves to be re-watched!
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