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Martyrs (film)
Encyclopedia
Martyrs is a 2008 French-Canadian 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 3 September 2008. The U.S. rights for Martyrs were bought by The Weinstein Company
, who released it on DVD in April 2009. A U.S. remake from the producers of Twilight
is in the works.
woman (Isabelle Chasse) covered in scars.
Fifteen years later, Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï
) bursts into a seemingly normal family's home and kills them all with a shotgun. Lucie calls Anna (Morjana Alaoui) to tell her that she has finally found and killed the people responsible for her childhood abuse and requests her help in burying the bodies. Upon arriving, Anna is horrified at the carnage, and worries that Lucie may have murdered the wrong people. Anna later discovers the mother is still alive and tries to help her escape, but the two are discovered by Lucie, who bludgeons the mother to death. Lucie is again attacked by the scarred creature, but all Anna sees is Lucie banging her head against the wall and cutting herself with a knife; the 'creature' is nothing more than a psychological manifestation of Lucie's guilt for leaving behind another girl who was also imprisoned and tortured with her as a child. Lucie tells the apparition that she killed its tormenters and that it can rest, but it has no effect. Lucie finally realizes that her insanity will never leave her and slits her throat. She dies in Anna's arms.
The next day, after mourning her friend's death, Anna attempts to clean up the house and discovers a secret underground chamber. Imprisoned within is a horribly tortured woman, covered in scars with a strange metal contraption nailed to her head. While Anna attempts to care for her and clean her wounds, a group of strangers arrive and shoot the woman dead. Captured by the menacing newcomers, Anna meets their leader, an elderly lady only referred to as Mademoiselle (Catherine Bégin). 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 belief that their suffering will result in a transcendental insight into the world beyond this one. So far, all of their attempts have failed, and they have only created "victims".
Anna becomes their latest subject and is imprisoned in a chamber. After an unspecified period, during which she is repeatedly beaten and degraded, Anna hallucinates a conversation with Lucie, who tells her to "let go" so she won't be afraid any more. Soon after, Anna is told she has progressed further than any other test subject, and has reached the "final stage" and will suffer no more. Anna is taken to a surgeon and is flayed
alive. She survives the procedure, entering a state that is described as being "euphoric" and likened to achieving transcendence. Mademoiselle arrives, eager to speak to Anna about her experience. Anna turns to her and whispers into her ear.
Members of the society begin gathering at the house to learn of the insights Anna shared with Mademoiselle. As Mademoiselle prepares herself, a doubting member asks her if what Anna said was clear and precise. Mademoiselle replies that there is no room for interpretation, and asks him if he could imagine what comes after death. When he says no, she tells him to "keep doubting" and places a pistol in her mouth and shoots herself. An intertitle informs the audience that "martyr" is Greek
for "witness".
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 effect
s was to keep the actresses crying all the time, and that was too demanding.
with regards to the level of violence it depicts. The film ranking website Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 52% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 25. 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", 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."
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 appeal
ed. 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
.
, and written by Mark L. Smith
, writer of Vacancy
. The film comes from the producers of Twilight
. The producer of the film has said he would like Twilight actress Kristen Stewart
for the film, though her presence in the film was later denied by Stamm.
Stamm has said "[The original film] is very nihilistic
. The American approach [that I'm looking at] would go through all that darkness but then give a glimmer of hope. You don't have to shoot yourself when it's over."
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Pascal Laugier
Pascal Laugier
Pascal Laugier is a French screenwriter and film director.-Career:Laugier is a former assistant to director Christophe Gans, also having directed the making-of documentary about Gans's 2001 film Brotherhood of the Wolf. He has written and directed the fantasy-horror feature films Saint Ange and...
. It was first screened during the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
2008 Cannes Film Festival
The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 14 to May 25, 2008. In addition to films selected for competition this year, major Hollywood productions such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Kung Fu Panda had their world premieres at the festival.The British press...
at the Marché du Film
Marché du Film
The Marché du Film is the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival and the largest film market in the world.It was created in 1959 and it is held annually since then, simultaneously to the Cannes Festival...
. The film was released in France publicly on 3 September 2008. The U.S. rights for Martyrs were bought by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
, who released it on DVD in April 2009. A U.S. remake from the producers of Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
is in the works.
Plot
The film begins with a young girl, Lucie (Jessie Pham), as she escapes from a disused abattoir where she has been imprisoned and physically abused for a lengthy period of time. No signs of sexual abuse are identified, and the perpetrators and their motivations remain a mystery. Lucie is placed in an orphanage, where she is befriended by a young girl named Anna (Erika Scott). Anna soon discovers that Lucie believes that she is constantly being terrorized by a ghoulish creature; a horrible, disfigured, emaciatedEmaciation
Emaciation occurs when an organism loses substantial amounts of much needed fat and often muscle tissue, making that organism look extremely thin. The cause of emaciation is a lack of nutrients, starvation, or disease....
woman (Isabelle Chasse) covered in scars.
Fifteen years later, Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï
Mylène Jampanoï
-Biography:Mylène Jampanoï was born on 12 July 1980 in Aix-en-Provence, France. She has a Chinese father and French mother. She married Indian model and actor Milind Soman in Goa in 2006. They met during the shooting of their film Valley of Flowers. The two divorced in 2009...
) bursts into a seemingly normal family's home and kills them all with a shotgun. Lucie calls Anna (Morjana Alaoui) to tell her that she has finally found and killed the people responsible for her childhood abuse and requests her help in burying the bodies. Upon arriving, Anna is horrified at the carnage, and worries that Lucie may have murdered the wrong people. Anna later discovers the mother is still alive and tries to help her escape, but the two are discovered by Lucie, who bludgeons the mother to death. Lucie is again attacked by the scarred creature, but all Anna sees is Lucie banging her head against the wall and cutting herself with a knife; the 'creature' is nothing more than a psychological manifestation of Lucie's guilt for leaving behind another girl who was also imprisoned and tortured with her as a child. Lucie tells the apparition that she killed its tormenters and that it can rest, but it has no effect. Lucie finally realizes that her insanity will never leave her and slits her throat. She dies in Anna's arms.
The next day, after mourning her friend's death, Anna attempts to clean up the house and discovers a secret underground chamber. Imprisoned within is a horribly tortured woman, covered in scars with a strange metal contraption nailed to her head. While Anna attempts to care for her and clean her wounds, a group of strangers arrive and shoot the woman dead. Captured by the menacing newcomers, Anna meets their leader, an elderly lady only referred to as Mademoiselle (Catherine Bégin). 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 belief that their suffering will result in a transcendental insight into the world beyond this one. So far, all of their attempts have failed, and they have only created "victims".
Anna becomes their latest subject and is imprisoned in a chamber. After an unspecified period, during which she is repeatedly beaten and degraded, Anna hallucinates a conversation with Lucie, who tells her to "let go" so she won't be afraid any more. Soon after, Anna is told she has progressed further than any other test subject, and has reached the "final stage" and will suffer no more. Anna is taken to a surgeon and is flayed
Flaying
Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....
alive. She survives the procedure, entering a state that is described as being "euphoric" and likened to achieving transcendence. Mademoiselle arrives, eager to speak to Anna about her experience. Anna turns to her and whispers into her ear.
Members of the society begin gathering at the house to learn of the insights Anna shared with Mademoiselle. As Mademoiselle prepares herself, a doubting member asks her if what Anna said was clear and precise. Mademoiselle replies that there is no room for interpretation, and asks him if he could imagine what comes after death. When he says no, she tells him to "keep doubting" and places a pistol in her mouth and shoots herself. An intertitle informs the audience that "martyr" is Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
for "witness".
Cast
- Morjana AlaouiMorjana AlaouiMorjana Alaoui she is a Moroccan actress. She is famous for her roles in Marock & Martyrs. She emigrated to the United States. She is Layla Marrakchi's cousin.-External links:...
as Anna Assaoui - Erika Scott as Young Anna
- Mylène JampanoïMylène Jampanoï-Biography:Mylène Jampanoï was born on 12 July 1980 in Aix-en-Provence, France. She has a Chinese father and French mother. She married Indian model and actor Milind Soman in Goa in 2006. They met during the shooting of their film Valley of Flowers. The two divorced in 2009...
as Lucie Jurin - Jessie Pham as Young Lucie
- Catherine Bégin as Mademoiselle
- Isabelle Chasse as The Creature
- Robert ToupinRobert ToupinRobert Toupin, LL.B , LL.M is a former Canadian Member of Parliament.Toupin had been a worker for the Quebec Liberal Party when he joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada following Brian Mulroney's election as party leader...
as Le père - Patricia Tulasne as Le mère
- Juliette Gosselin as Marie
- Xavier Dolan-TadrosXavier DolanXavier Dolan , sometimes credited as Xavier Dolan-Tadros, is a Québécois actor and filmmaker, the son of Geneviève Dolan, a teacher, and Manuel Tadros, a Quebecois actor and singer of Egyptian descent...
as Antoine
Production
Pascal LaugierPascal Laugier
Pascal Laugier is a French screenwriter and film director.-Career:Laugier is a former assistant to director Christophe Gans, also having directed the making-of documentary about Gans's 2001 film Brotherhood of the Wolf. He has written and directed the fantasy-horror feature films Saint Ange and...
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+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
, the only television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
in France that still finances
Film finance
Film finance is an aspect of film production that occurs during the development stage prior to pre-production, and is concerned with determining the potential value of a proposed film...
some unusual projects". He also comments that the main difficulty other than the technical issues such as special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s was to keep the actresses crying all the time, and that was too demanding.
Reception
The film was categorized as a new example of new era French horror films akin to InsideInside (2007 film)
Inside is a 2007 French horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, starring Alysson Paradis and Béatrice Dalle. It was written by co-director Alexandre Bustillo, and is the first film from either director...
with regards to the level of violence it depicts. The film ranking website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 52% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 25. 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", 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."
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 appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
ed. The French Society of Film Directors (SRF) have also asked the Ministry of Culture
Minister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de 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
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
.
Remake
Laugier has confirmed in an interview that he is currently in the middle of negotiating the rights for Martyrs to be remade in America. It will be directed by Daniel Stamm, director of The Last ExorcismThe Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage horror film directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, and Louis Herthum....
, and written by Mark L. Smith
Mark L. Smith
Mark L. Smith is an American director and screenwriter.-Career:He wrote and directed his first movie in 2006, called Séance, which won the Festival Prize at the Eureka Springs Digital Film Festival and the Horror Genre Award at ShockFest...
, writer of Vacancy
Vacancy (film)
Vacancy is a 2007 American horror film, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. It was distributed by Screen Gems and was released on April 20, 2007. Production was scheduled to commence in August 2006 with Nimród Antal signing on to direct it....
. The film comes from the producers of Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
. The producer of the film has said he would like Twilight actress Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
for the film, though her presence in the film was later denied by Stamm.
Stamm has said "[The original film] is very nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
. The American approach [that I'm looking at] would go through all that darkness but then give a glimmer of hope. You don't have to shoot yourself when it's over."