UK Premiere: The Butcher (Le Boucher)

Claude Chabrol's masterful thriller hinges on the unlikely bond between a schoolmistress and a butcher and the unsettling possibility that all might not be what it seems as a wave of murders grip their small idyllic French village. Join us for a long overdue and welcome return to the cinema for Claude Chabrol. _Le Boucher_ is perhaps Chabrol's most well-known film distilling his love of Hitchcock into a slow-burning psychological thriller focusing on the unlikely bond between Hélène (Stéphane Audran), a sophisticated school headmistress, and Popaul (Jean Yanne), a charming but slightly odd local butcher who has been scarred by war. As their friendship deepens, a wave of murders unsettles their small village idyll. Suspicion falls on Popaul, and Hélène finds herself torn between her growing feelings for him and the unsettling possibility that he might be the killer. Pierre Jansen's haunting dissonant score adds to the unsettling atmosphere all the way to the uncanny finale. A chilling meditation on the violence simmering beneath the tranquil surface of a rural community. A 2K restoration c/o Tamasa Distribution and BFI Distribution.