34/29
Features Nosferatu, the Strive Symphony (1922)
Narrative
Two girls disappear. Police recruit Paul Chartier joins a secret unit that is tracking a sex offender. After the operation falters, Chartier pursues the perpetrators independently, disillusioned by legal constraints.. In “Maldoror,” director Fabrice du Welz tackles one of Belgium’s darkest chapters in recent history.
This failure led to a profound reorganization of law enforcement
The kidnapping and murder of several teenage girls by Marc Dutroux caused national trauma in 1996. The fact that local police forces and criminal investigators had difficulty cooperating during the investigation may have cost the girls their lives. The film tells the story from the point of view of a police officer, Paul Charlier, who searched the cellar where the girls were hidden. He heard them whispering, but could not find them because of the limited search warrant.
Charlier knows he’s right, but his superiors have other priorities
These events actually happened, but Du Welz mixes fact and fiction in his film. He portrays the police officer as a typical street cop, who prefers his gut feelings to rules and procedures. Ultimately, his persistence and disrespect for authority leads to his downfall, the end of his marriage, but also to his ultimate moral victory. The film is both a gripping police thriller and a character study of Charlier.
Visually, the film is a joy to watch
His strong will is the result of his upbringing: his parents were far from law-abiding. He is determined to be “on the right side,” but for him it’s all about hunting down criminals. If rules and regulations get in the way, he ignores them. The industrial wasteland of Charleroi, where the kidnappings took place, is used to its fullest.
But some of the events are clearly fictional
The city’s hopelessness, where illegal activities seem to thrive, also adds to the bleak atmosphere. The film documents an important part of Belgian history, and for those who followed the events at the time, it is an interesting interpretation. In order to make a gripping police thriller with political elements, the film abandoned historical accuracy.
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