Martyrs | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I had heard great things about this film for years but just never got around to watching it, so I'm really glad that it was on the bucket list to give me the excuse to finally check it out!

I knew very little about the film before putting it on, so the first 10 minutes were intense. And it doesn't really let up.

The film mixes psychological horror and bloody gory violence really well, when usually we'd expect one or the other. It elevated the film from just being a revenge story, to being a story about trauma amongst a host of other themes.

One of the best things about the film is the friendship between Lucie and Anna, and the way this is depicted. You get to know them by seeing how they interact with each other.

Both actresses did an amazing job with these characters. They really allowed the audience to understand their complexities and why they make the decisions they do.

It goes in an interesting direction. I had no idea how the story would move on after the 50-minute mark, but the way everything tied together was great.

I didn't love the explanation behind the abuse, for reasons that I can't quite pinpoint. I guess the reasons being rooted in religion, being perpetuated by a secret group made it feel a bit less grounded than it had before.

I also felt that when it became less about revenge, particularly when we lost one of the main characters, that loss was significant and made the second half of the film feel like it was missing something. But then again I do understand why that ending was necessary for the character.

This is a hard watch, and I liked that the filmmakers leaned into this, rather than trying to make it more palatable. Evil, horrific, traumatic things happen and there's no way to get around that.

I also appreciated the fact that it stays somewhat realistic - a story like this isn't going to end happily and there's no point trying to force that.

So while I ultimately appreciate the film and understand why it's highly regarded, it's not the kind of film I could say I 'liked' or 'enjoyed', and I can't imagine it's one I'd rewatch.