Themroc

1973 caveman movie

Rating: 14/20

Plot: Themroc lives a monotonous life in an apartment with his mother and sister. He leaves for work, putting on yellow coveralls and painting a fence black while men in white coveralls paint the same fence white. One day, he sees something he's not supposed to--his boss and secretary getting it on--and he is fired. He walks home, growling at a few trains along the way. Themroc then rebels against society, using a sledgehammer to knock a giant hole in his wall, throwing everything he owns out that hole, and having sexual relations with his sister. When his neighbors are inspired to do the same, police come in riot gear to try to ruin their fun.

Michel Piccoli makes such a good caveman. He's in a handful of Bunuel films, yet this is still likely his oddest role. It really is a good performance, expression without words, visceral and with more emotional depth than you'd guess for a character who does little more than grunt. I'm not sure exactly what they're trying to say in this movie, but I think it would appeal to anarchists. It's shot in an almost anarchic style, filthy and free. Things got a bit repetitious after a while as the grunting and almost no plot started to feel less unique and more of the same stuff I'd been watching for an hour and a half. Since there's no dialogue in the movie unless you count guttural caveman grunts, so obviously, this is not a movie for everybody. I did find some of it very funny, and if you're the type of cinephile who can tolerate this sort of thing, I recommend you take a trip to Blockbuster and grab a copy. It'll be right between Them! and The Mr. O. Chronicles.