36/25
Two girls go missing
The police recruit Paul Chartier to join an undercover unit tracking a sex offender. When the operation falters, Chartier pursues the criminals on his own, frustrated by legal constraints. Notable works include Nosferatu, Symphony of Strike (1922). In Maldoror, director Fabrice du Welz explores one of the darkest chapters in Belgium’s recent history.
The failure led to a complete overhaul of law enforcement
The 1996 kidnapping and murder of several teenage girls by Marco Dutroux caused national trauma. The lack of cooperation between local police and forensic scientists during the investigation may have cost the girls their lives. The film follows police officer Paul Charlier, who searches the basement where the girls are hiding. He hears them whispering but is unable to find them due to a limited search warrant.
Charlier knows he is right, but his superiors have other priorities
These events happened in reality, but Du Welz mixes fact and fiction in his film. He portrays the police officer as a typical street cop who prioritizes his instincts over rules and procedures. Ultimately, his persistence and lack of respect for authority lead to his downfall, the end of his marriage, but also his greatest moral victory. His strong will is the result of his upbringing: his parents were far from law-abiding.
If rules and regulations get in the way, he ignores them
He is determined to be “on the right side”, but his main priority is hunting criminals. The abandoned industrial wasteland of Charleroi, where the kidnappings took place, is exploited to the fullest. The bleak atmosphere is also added to by the hopelessness of the city, where illegal activities seem to flourish. The film documents an important part of Belgian history, and for those who followed the events at the time, it is an interesting interpretation.
However, some of the events are clearly fictional
In order to create an interesting police thriller with political elements, the film abandoned historical accuracy.
