The Real Hero of Raiders



I’d like to take a moment to mention perhaps the greatest movie archeologist/adventure of all time… Rene Belloq. You might be more familiar with Normandy Belloq, no, nothing? From Normandy Belloq and the Liberators of the Lost Ark played by Paul Freeman. Okay, some of you may remember Belloq as the other archeologist, the “evil” archeologist, from Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, the only reason Belloq is the bad guy is because we see him through Indiana Jones’s perspective, the reality is that Rene Belloq is the hero of the film, while Indiana Jones is the evil invader.

Let’s look at Belloq’s offenses:

1. Belloq stole the golden idol.

2. Belloq tried to seduce Marion Ravenwood.

3. Belloq helped the Nazi’s acquire the Ark of the Covenant.

Belloq Stole Indie’s Gold Idol

Yes, Indie did the leg work. Yes, Indiana Jones navigated his way through all the booby traps, jumped chasms, dodged poison darts, and out ran a giant boulder. Belloq most likely enjoyed a cool glass of lemonade at the time. But does that mean Indiana deserved the gold idol? The Indiana Jones school of archeology teaches, “It belongs in a museum.” He says it like 37 times throughout the series. Belloq, however, believes that history belongs to the people, not just the privileged college kids who can afford museums. Belloq was, in fact, working with the indigenous Hovitos people (the rightful owners of the idol) in order to keep the idol with the people it belonged to and away from grave robbers like Indiana Jones. It’s all perspective. Indie assumes Belloq is going to double cross the Hovitos, but we never actually see this. For all we know, Belloq handed it to idol over the the Hovitos chieftain right after Indie took off, and toasted the occasion with some tasty lemonade.

Belloq Seduced Marion

As far as I know, it’s not a crime to like the same girl as someone else, just because Indie called dibs doesn’t mean Belloq is some sort of scoundrel. Belloq brought Marion food, brought her a nice dress, and shared several dozen drinks with her. And the most important thing of all, he kept Marion alive. If Belloq hadn’t taken an interest in her, the Nazi’s would have killed her. Belloq did everything in his power to make sure Marion was comfortable, cared for… and alive. Indiana, on the other hand, abandoned her 4 times in the film (once at bar, once at the market, once in the desert, and once on the boat), and at least once before the film ever began, breaking the poor girl’s heart. Yet, she still chose Indiana, and Belloq had those dreamy blue eyes.

Belloq Helped Nazis

Nazis are a very convenient enemy because they are taken as being inherently evil. You don’t need back story, you don’t need motivation, we’re just supposed to assume they’re evil and everyone associated with them are evil. This makes it very okay to mow them down in large numbers. Let’s remember though that Belloq is French and France would later be occupied by the Third Reich. We don’t know the exact relationship he had with Nazi Germany, perhaps they threatened his family or his homeland. We don’t know Belloq’s exact motivation, but should we assume it’s because he’s a big Hitler fan? And yes, Belloq did aid the Nazis by heading their dig, by heading a terrible dig, slowly digging in the wrong spot. Belloq did whatever it took to keep the Ark of the Covenant out of Nazi hands. It was his idea to open the ark on a far off island instead of Berlin. He even gave Indiana Jones a chance to blow the ark up, which would have been great, it kept the ark away from the Nazi and everyone survives. Instead, Belloq had to sacrifice his own life in order to kill the Nazis and save humanity, all while Indiana Jones sat safely tied to a post with his eyes closed.

Is Indiana Jones only a hero because the title has his name in it? Given the right circumstances, the right perspective, can the even the villain be the hero?