Falling somewhere between an enigmatic European folk horror and a forlorn love story lies Lucas Delangle’s feature debut, The Strange Case of Jacky Calliou, an interesting entrant in a sub-genre not generally known for its subtlety. As the trailer bluntly points out, this is a werewolf film, but exiling it to that no-mans-land of heavy-handed and dubious allegory does this artfully-crafted piece of work a huge disservice. Yes, one of the characters turns into a wolf, but I promise you’ve never seen a werewolf picture as pensive or, dare I say, gentle as Jacky Calliou. Delangle cares about his characters beyond mere savagery and blind trope-reliance, and in doing so, delivers quite an unexpected treat indeed.
In a remote village nestled high in the French Alps, Gisèle Calliou (Edwige Blondiau) is known throughout the region for her talents as a healer. She lives with her twenty-something grandson, Jacky (Thomas Parigi), who lost his parents in a car accident when he was young. Together, Gisèle performs her healing acts, while Jacky collects donations from the faithful who come to her for her services. This is no snake oil scam or bogus “hand of God” sermonizing, though, as Gisèle and her gifts are well-respected by the entire extended community and have been for decades. Soon, however, the aging Gisèle will have passed away, and the healing burdens will fall on a reluctant Jacky’s shoulders.
While Jacky doesn’t exactly embrace his new position (he’s an aspiring musician whose dreams don’t seem to quite fit in with the languid pace of the village), he nevertheless loved his grandmother and saw firsthand the many times she genuinely made people’s lives better. He shows aptitude, though, and before long, a young woman named Elsa (Lou Lampros) shows up on his doorstep with a rather unique medical condition.
It’s at this point that the clues towards the film’s lycanthropic underbelly begin to take shape, as reports of missing herd animals and wolves begin to circulate through the region. But, while this revelation may not exactly come as a surprise, the way in which Delangle downplays and adds uncertainty to the mix is. Add to that the mystical and nearly surreal way in which the mystery plays out, and Jacky Calliou easily identifies itself as a standout genre entry.
What’s best, though, is how Delangle embraces not the savagery of the wild animal but the freedom that comes with casting off the burdens of man. Where most would see Elsa as a monster, Jacky, who also dreamos of breaking free from the constraints thrust upon him by tradition, recognizes and respects her choice to live free of the hardships of rural and poverty-stricken mountain life. Often, as Jacky’s hereditary gifts show, young people are born and then forced into a predetermined path, and, as Elsa represents, freeing yourself might mean going a little wild.
Far from a traditional horror film, The Strange Case of Jacky Calliou is instead a keen observation on the nature of freedom and the burden of expectation. It plays much more like a fantasy think-piece than anything else, as Delangle cleverly and stylistically captures respected rural folk traditions as they clash with the youthful longing for individuality. If it’s jump scares and blood you’re after, you’d best look elsewhere. But those in search of thoughtful and artistically-driven symbolism need look no further.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.