This not-very-funny comedy from France pays tribute to Paris’s fabled Grand Guignol Theatre. That tribute takes the form of a ramshackle theater troupe settling into a hotel in a small town, where they plan to stage the latest in a long line of ultra-bloody melodramas.
Staunchly character based, this (intentionally) rambling account focuses primarily on Baptiste, the troupe’s leader. He enthusiastically types up plays in his hotel room while his dissatisfied wife Sarah is left to schlep around the hotel on her own, finding solace with a fun loving man who runs a joke shop—and is himself contending with a frustrated spouse.
Other characters include Coco, an actress with a thing for Baptiste; Monsieur Albert, an eccentric actor who specializes in playing Dracula; and a local whore who becomes something of a muse to Baptiste. She’s also lusted after by the hotel’s pervy proprietor, who plants video recording equipment in the rooms so he can spy on her nocturnal activities (and masturbate to what he sees). He also has a thing for Sarah, and allows her to see the monitors broadcasting the activities of her husband and others. All this strife poses a threat to the troupe, as none of them are very good actors, and so won’t have many job opportunities should Baptiste and/or Sarah decide to abandon their posts.
There’s enough gore in GRAND GUIGNOL to fill a half dozen traditional splatter films, with intestine spilling, skull slicing, tongue ripping, eyeball gouging, wrist cutting and a great deal of nudity as well. Of course, in this film none of the outrages are “real” (as one character states, “Here scores are settled with fake knives and retractable blades!”), presented as either special effects in the trashy plays staged by the principals or the morbid imaginings of Baptiste.
Grand Guignol buffs will be disappointed in the staunchly realistic, non-melodramatic (and so very un-Guignol like) vibe, although the naturalistic veneer is not entirely inappropriate to the subject matter, given that the Grand Guignol began as a direct outgrowth of the French Naturalist movement of the late 1800s. That veneer also proves quite efficacious in imparting the confusion between reality and artifice that increasingly overtakes the film.
Even taking into account the fact that GRAND GUIGNOL is meant to disjointed, far too many scenes are allowed to meander and eventually peter out. The overriding problem is that director Jean Marboeuf is focused primarily on the interrelationships between his characters, which frankly aren’t nearly as interesting as the bloody dramas they stage.
Vital Statistics
GRAND GUIGNOL
Les Films Aramis/Les Films du Chantier/Monthyon Films
Director/Producer/Screenwriter: Jean Marboeuf
Cinematography: Gerard Simon
Editing: Anne-France Lebrun
Cast: Caroline Cellier, Guy Marchand, Michael Galabru, Marie Dubois, Jean-Claude Brialy, Denis Manuel, Claire Nadeau, Olivia Brunaux, Jacques Chailleux, Catherine d’at, Serge Marquand, Violetta Ferrer