THE PRAYING MANTIS

Sylvia is as dangerous as she is beautiful. She comes from nowhere, endlessly reproducing herself. Like the praying mantis, she has to kill to survive. But she doesn’t only give death, she gives so much more. She gives total, inaccessible love to Julien, her husband, whom she doesn’t want to destroy. She gives carnal, devastating love to Patrick, whom she has chosen as her victim. Julien, the sensible musician, is prepared to give everything for her happiness. Even to let her have someone else. Even to sacrifice himself to join her. Then there is Patrick, the daredevil searching for the ultimate kick. By finding it in Sylvia’s arms, he’ll pay for it with his life.

The Feast of the Praying Mantis is the first long feature of acclaimed Belgian short film maker Marc Levie. It‘s the realization of an old dream, which he‘s had for fifteen years. With this fantasy thriller, he inscribes himself in a tradition that goes back to Breughel, Jean Ray and Harry Kummel. Levie transforms the classical love triangle husband-lover-wife into a triangle of life : love-desire-death. Three talented young actors embody this lethal relationship. Lou Broclain is the tender and cruel Sylvia. Yann Chely plays the faithful husband Julien and Sacha Kollich wants to risk it all as Patrick.