 Dir. Henry Xhonneux, 83 mins What the f**k was that? True, it may not be the first time I’ve uttered those particular words in writing this column for five or so years now, but I don’t think I’ve ever shouted it quite as loudly as I have for Marquis, a little-known late 80s production documenting (of a fashion) the Marquis de Sade’s imprisonment in The Bastille. Honestly I’m not up on my Marquis de Sade history, or indeed by reading of de Sade, so I won’t be commenting much on its veracity or historical accuracy. Then again, bearing in mind that all the characters are depicted as human-size anthropomorphic animals, it’s probably not really trying to be a biopic per se… So, Marquis is the deeply weird tale of the Marquis’ imprisonment, where he (in the form of a dog) is guarded by a love-struck rat called Ambert who has a strong sexual fascination with the Marquis. In the prison itself we also have the snivelling pig, Pigonou, the mysterious and seemingly important Lupino, a cow by the name of Justine who is pregnant with the king’s child after being raped, and a cowardly and conniving priest and jailor who effectively run The Bastille. My favourite character, however, probably remains Colin, the Marquis’ talking penis and main confidante throughout the runtime. Throw into that a dominatrix tormenting the submissive jailor to get favours and information and you have quite the interesting cocktail. And god-damn it if I didn’t love every minute of this one. It's fair to say that this is a movie that takes a little while to really tune in to, but once you’re past the initial stunned reaction this one is a huge amount of fun. The Marquis cuts a bizarre, enthralling and clearly disturbed figure who captivates the attention of many in The Bastille, and there are plenty of hilarious moments with the other characters throughout – the movie’s speciality is really its dark humour, which is certainly not going to be for everyone but tickled my funny bones just right. The performances are all well delivered, the puppetry/animatronics look really great, and because of all that the whole thing just has the feel of an absolutely out-there pantomime. The plot moves along at a really good pace, there are plenty of twists and turns en route and it has all the lewdness and strangeness that a film about the Marquis de Sade probably should. It certainly makes light of the real man’s proclivities, from what scant amount I know, and if anything presents him as the hero of the piece – a directorial choice that I expect could leave some viewers cold. With all that said, taking Marquis in isolation as its own slice of craziness and inanity, there’s a huge amount to like here. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of originality in film, and this one certainly offers that up in spades with its surreal, twisted humour and unique visual choices. And it’s hard not to warm to the movie’s charms, despite the subject matter. Not only did I think this was a good film, I actually really enjoyed it – and those two things do not always go together in this particular column… RATING: 10/10. Brace yourself for something utterly bonkers – the minute The Marquis starts talking to his own penis you will know exactly the sort of film that you are getting into. But even more than thirty years on from release this one looks great, it has loads of ribald comedy throughout and just has a fantastic energy and sense of fun it’s hard to resist falling for. I’ve not smiled watching a movie like this for ages – which might say more about me than is comfortable – but this one comes with the coveted top mark of 10/10.   the heart and soul of horror movie review websites |
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