Fabrice Eboué (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
87 (length)
21 March 2022 (released)
25 March 2022
As anyone who has an interest in meat will know a lot of attention goes into what the animal is fed and reared. Hence the premium prices charged for pork from Iberian acorn fed pigs, and Japanese Kobe/Waygu beef. So it’s not that great a leap to ponder if a human vegan diet free of meats, processed foods and the like would have a similar effect their bodies.
Vincent (Fabrice Eboué who is also the director and co-writer with Vincent Solignac) is a local butcher a purist who is have financial problems as well as a target for protestors. This gets complicated when Vincent runs down one of the protestors who vandalised his shop.
To get rid of the body his wife Sophie (Marina Foïs) suggests cutting it up and dumping it around. However some of ends up with the customers and they like it. This spreads around the community which and Vincent finds that his shop starting to attract customers for this delicacy that he’s labelled Iranian Ham.
When supply becomes a problem they do their research in the local vegan restaurant where they know there is some element of quality control. And when it comes to dealing with the victims it’s helpful that Sophie is an expert on serial killers having watched endless documentaries about them. A killing spree ensues that replenishes stock, keeps the customers happy and makes a tidy profit.
Eboué’s satire is hilarious, as he takes shots at almost anything, and taboos are mercilessly booted. Its’s all done with gleeful, arch bad taste that could have fallen flat if it wasn’t as sharp as any knife that I have ever used (and I was a butcher for a few years, though some time ago now).
Top of the hit list is the perceived sanctimony of vegans and what they put into their bodies, and while these may be little stereotypical, it parallels Vincent’s respect for the meat he butchers which is the best quality and takes great pride and care in preparing at the start of the film.
This is the opposite of the stuff that his friends Marc (Jean-François Cayrey) and Stéphanie (Virginia Hocq), (owners of a successful chain of meat processors) serve up and provides Eboué with an opportunity to strike out against poor quality produce and materialism.
There’s no doubt that this will offend some people due to the violence and subject matter. But beyond that it is also possible to see a crumbling relationship repair itself, as Vincent and Sophie struggle with all too familiar financial and personal problems. Its unconventional therapy to say the least and gives the characters some aspect of reality.
Some Like It Rare was presented at FrightFest Glasgow 2022 and is now available on Digital Platforms
