PlatinumRead
Just so...so bad
Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
Teringer
An Exercise In Nonsense
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
punishmentpark
I read in another review (here on IMDb) that Lee Marvin was ill during the shooting of this film and that this was a total waste of his talent. I agree that Marvin's role is rather minimal, and in that sense it never becomes a great role in the twilight of his career, but he doesn't do bad at all (especially now that I know about his condition during the shoot), and there are plenty more actors and actresses who do their bidding, especially Miou-Miou as a woman who likes sex but, for a change, is not discarded as a slut, and the extraordinary David Bennent (well known for his part in 'Die Blechtrommel'), playing a career-criminal in the making.I don't mind that there is no real main character here, just like there is no genre here that really dominates; it's a mix of heist-gone-wrong, man-on-the-run, a gorefest (with a lot of rather casual, bloody killing), raw drama about a dysfunctional farmer's family and their helpers (some pimps and thugs and cops and hookers show up as well), a little (sort of, though rather twisted) coming-of-age drama and a formidable ending which gives much room to especially Marvin and Bennent to shine, but Miou-Miou in a red dress in the rain should not be missed either.No, it's not a perfect movie, but it's a hell of a lot of gruesome fun! A big 8 out of 10.
marekj66
Canicule or Dog day is completely bonkers. It is a cartoon really, but a pretty violent and ludicrous one. Lee Marvin in one of his final roles is not given enough screen time, only at the climax of the film is he terrific, really giving his all as the dying gangster (he was probably ill himself then). In the rest of the film he looks on in disbelief and looks like he would rather be elsewhere. There is a lot of 'business' going on inside the farm which is not worth going into and much of the film would be seen a French Farce or as being like 'Carry on' or 'Benny Hill'- if it was not so violent or just plain nasty in its depiction and abuse of its characters.The film is violent towards women and negative about humans and sexuality in general. The film collapses into the absurd as the body count mounts up as the crazy inhabitants of the farm, police and nearby innocents are all brutally wiped out and the best remaining parts are between the small boy in his surreal 'boat' shaped den and the great Marvin. Ne actor has looked this dislocated from a film since Terence Stamp in 'Theorem'. Lee Marvin was a great actor, but this film is not worthy of him and is only worth a look if you want to see Marvin in this piece of weird French surrealism.
Sorsimus
This is essentially a trash film that luckily does not take itself too seriously. It is well aware of its nature as entertainment and uses themes familiar from such films as "Deliverance" and "The Hills Have Eyes" in a sort of parodic context.It features a family living in rural France where the father is a brutal and violent pervert, his brother is same but worse, the son (about 10) is following on the same track and the father's sister is a nympho. Key in lots of tasteless moments (the clubbering to death of two Swedish (topless) campers, the suicide of the grandmother when they threaten to take her to old folks' home, the spending spree of the 10 year old kid in a cathouse and so on)and what you have is a fairly entertaining exploitation picture with a European touch.You know whether you'll like it or not! Definitely not for the fans of Lee Marvin...
alicecbr
Watch the two movies together for an example of a good film and a bad one with the same themes. No one is good in this one, and that goes for the acting as well as the morality. The family is depraved and watching Lee Marvin go through his 'take the illegal money, eye the women, escape the pursuers' bit is incredibly boring.Skip it. A real waste of film, despite the VanGogh beauty of the golden fields of southern France.