La Vouivre (1989) - film review

Arsène Muselier returns to his home village at the end of the First World War.  His only injury is a head wound, which sometimes provokes periods of delirium and fury.  As he renews his acquaintance with the people he left behind – his mother, the old farmhand who brought him up after his father’s death, his former girlfriend, and many others – he becomes fascinated by the legend of La Vouivre, a creature with the body of a woman who lives in the marsh, surrounded by vipers.  One day, Arsène sees the strange woman – she is naked, beautiful, alluring, and he is instantly enchanted by her.  Can she be real, or is she merely a creation of his damaged mind…?

This unsettling post-WW I drama was the only film to be directed by Georges Wilson, a well-known and greatly admired actor of both stage and screen.  His son, Lambert Wilson, plays the lead role, and gives a convincing portrayal of an ex-combatant struggling to return to civilian life after having endured the horrors of war.  Beautifully photographed and set in a stunning location, La Vouivre captures the dark poetry of the famous novel by Marcel Aymé on which it is based, although the ambiguous ending is frustrating and leaves the impression that only part of the story has been told.

© James Travers 2007

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