D'Ardennen (The Ardennes) (2015)

Director: Robin Pront
Writers:  Jeroen Perceval, Robin Pront
Cast:      Veerle Beatens, Jan Bijvoet, Eric Godon, Jeroen Perceval
Language: Dutch (Flemish)

A brutal home-jacking goes hopelessly wrong. Dave, one of the two robbers, manages to run off, leaving his brother Kenneth behind. Four years later, Kenneth is released from prison and much has changed. Dave has his life back on track and is trying to help Kenneth however possible, but is witnessing how the highly strung Kenneth tries to win back his ex-girlfriend, who is actually dating his brother now. 

The film really meanders at the beginning which terrifically sets up the brilliant last act as it becomes more stylized gradually. On that regard, it reminded me of the film 'The Guest', which also had a terrific soundtrack. The basic plot doesn't seem much but it is a gripping watch and we don't usually see protagonists who belong to this social class, in Western films, unless it is dealing with drugs. TBF, Belgian films that I have seen mostly features such social class (Broken Circle Breakdown, Rundskop). It was not surprising to see Michael R. Roskam's, director of Rundskop, name during the end credits.  Another great thing about this film is that is that it is not very expositionary and we are left to piece together the puzzle of what happened over the years. The first few minutes of the film features three different time period over the four years. It is a very confident way of film-making. 

The characters are played excellently by all concerned and you also get to see Jan Bijvoet, who was in Borgman. The actor who played Dave, Jeroen Perceval, was also involved with the screenplay of it. This film is highly recommended for people who like intense indie down to earth thrillers. 

Rating: 4/5

Rundskop (Bullhead) (2011)

Director: Michael R. Roskam
Writer:    Michael R. Roskam
Cast:       Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy
Language: Flemish, French

The film begins with the following monologue:

"Sometimes in a man's life stuff happens that makes everyone go quiet. So quiet that no one even dares talk about it. Not to anyone, not even to themselves. Not in their head and not out loud. Not a fucking word. Cos everything somehow got stuck.  No matter how long ago it was, there will always be someone to bring it all back. Because no matter what you do or think, one thing is for sure, you're always fucked now, tomorrow, next week or next year, until the end of time, fucked."

It is basically the story of a young cattle farmer, Jacky, who is approached by a veterinarian to make a deal with a notorious beef trader. We are shown, through flashbacks, why the farmer is taking steroids in the same way that he is applying a different set of steroids to his cattle to beef them up. The trigger for the whole thing is him encountering someone from his past during a meet with the beef trader and it sets off a chain of events leading to him getting caught up inadvertently under the Police scanner due to a set of coincidences.

For Matthias Schoenaerts, the role is not very dissimilar from his role in Audiard's 'Rust and Bone', which also was a very physical performance while playing an unhinged character. The director trust the audience very much and doesn't spoon-feed them which helps in utilizing the time very well. It stands at just over two hours in length but you do get a feeling that a plenty have been told during that time with four sets of story strands going on-Jacky's business and his dealings with the beef trader, Jacky's past and his connect with the informant, informant and his dealings with the Police and finally Jacky's personal story with an awkward love interest. The whole of it appears seamless which is something the director should be proud of as it is very easy for him lose the audience either through lame expositions or utter confusion. That said, there is an exposition scene towards the end of the film which was really not needed as it was not that difficult to piece everything together without that itself. 

Overall it is a great watch with a very interesting and unique story line. Michael R. Roskam had directed Tom Hardy starrer 'The Drop', from last year, which was also something that I enjoyed very much. Bullhead was nominated for academy awards in the foreign film category but lost out to 'A Separation'. The highlight of the film is of course the performance from Matthias Schoenaerts who is literally a bullhead in it.

Rating: 4.5/5

                                                                         

The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)

Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Writers:  Johan Heldenbergh, Mieke Dobbels, Carl Joos, Felix Van Groeningen
Cast:       Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse
Language: Flemish

Elise and Didier plays the role of a country music singing couple who fall in love at first sight. Their relationship is tested by the illness of their daughter and her subsequent death.

The story told straight forward would seem like a manipulative tearjerker. What makes the film special is the way it is edited with the timelines jumping all over the place. Film begins with a scene from the hospital with their child and soon cuts to the time where they meet for the first time and so on. The way they individually deal with their daughter's death is fundamentally in conflict, with him being an atheist and she being a realist theist. There is also an American theme running through the film with them living a life in farm cowboy style with country music as their passion. Footage of September 11, war  on terrorism and Bush's veto of Stem Cell research are shown to highlight the fact that film is about the conflicts in dealing with sorrow from an atheist/theist stand point. Didier sees the veto on stem cell research, because of religious sentiments, as the cause for her daughter's death whilst Elise finds solace in religion with the belief that there is something after death. It doesn't help the situation when Didier keeps on confronting the issue from his on view-point and finally ends up with her attempting suicide.

The film has been nominated for academy awards under the foreign film category. I have so far seen three out of the five and rate them in the order: 'The Great Beauty', 'The Hunt' and 'The Broken Circle Breakdown'. It is not surprise that all the three films are far superior to the ten films that have been nominated for best picture.

Rating: 4.5/5