The Ardennes (D’ardennen)

Described as a breath of fresh air by the Belgium film industry following two ‘serious’ short films, one about the drug scene in Antwerp and another about football hooliganism Robin Pront has directed and written his first feature film.  Set in Antwerp The Ardennes (2015) is a chilling piece of cinema. The movie is a study of man’s brutality seen through the actions of two brothers and their associates.

After a robbery that went wrong Kenny (Kevin Jassens) receives a prison sentence but his brother Dave (Jeroen Perceval) was never caught. Released from prison after serving four years Kenny finds that things in the outside world have changed. Dave has kept to the straight and narrow, found him self a permanent job cleaning cars and wants to settle down with his girlfriend Sylvie (Veerle Baetens) who is pregnant with their first child. But the problem is Sylvie was originally Kenny’s girlfriend before he went into prison and he wants to pick up where he left off but has no idea about her relationship with his brother. Kenny is a jealous man who solves problems with violence, a man that can snap without notice, and he suspects that Sylvie is having an affair with someone but has no idea who. Both Dave and Sylvie are scared to tell the ultraviolent brother about their plans for the future.

 

Kevin Jassens and Veele Baetens.

The film gradually turns darker and bloodier following a chain of events that underlines how Kenny’s uncontrollable temper and paranoia drives his ‘insanity’ into even more ultra violent conclusions which affects everyone with in his sphere.  This Cain and Abel story packs a really powerful punch and brings to mind another dynamically violent Belgium movie debut Michael Roskams Rundskop (Bullhead) 2011 which also featured Jeroen Perceval.  A great movie, well-photographed and produced but might not appeal to everyone as the violence can be quite gross at times.

Bullhead (Rundskop)

Belgian director Michael Roskam’s debut feature film may be a tough, brutal, gritty crime drama but its unbelievably good and certainly not to be missed and I opine its even better than his second movie The Drop (2014), which turned out to be James Gandolfini’s final feature film.   

The explosive Jacky Vanmarsenille. 

Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, the award-winning star of Rust and Bone (2012), Bullhead (2011) or to give it its Dutch title Rundskop, is harrowing tale of revenge, redemption and fate. The Belgium born actor plays Jacky Vanmarsenille a man whose life has been affected by a violent childhood incident that has left him permanently maimed which in turn has made him unsociable and deep, a handsome man who has never known love outside his immediate family. Jacky and his family are central to a meat selling scam, one in which beef cattle are illegally injected with hormones to bulk them up and produce more meat. But again due to that violent child hood occurrence Jacky Vanmarsenille has also been injecting himself with hormones as well as taking steroids. Three things happen to Jacky that complicates his life even more than usual, putting pressure on his already explosive nature. Firstly undue pressure from a Mafioso meat trader, secondly the murder of a Federal Agent who has been investigating the illicit trade in meat and finally a woman from his traumatic past.

 

The woman that comes back into Jacky's life..

To play this part the brilliant Schoenaerts had to put in a great deal of work bulking up to replicate the effects of the characters drug intake and successfully giving the impression that he will explode into violence any moment - which at times he does!  Don’t be put off by the movies ruthless and cruel subject matter, this is a film that should be widely seen and was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84^th Academy Awards and only lost to the Iranian submission A Separation (2011) - yes its that good.

The source of an illicit income.

The House of Magic.

The house of magic is a great description of the cinema especially when your going for the very first time as a pre-treat for your fourth birthday and your accompanied by your three year old cousin who is also at Fountain Park’s Cineworld for the first time. The look on their faces when the auditorium went dark, the family orientated adverts started followed by trailers for the latest children’s films including Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep movie, due for release at the beginning of February, was well worth the trip to Edinburgh. Cineworld run two separate children’s films on a Saturday morning both starting at 10:10am and charge just one price per ticket which meant that seven of us got in for the very reasonable total cost of £10:50, I think the popcorn was more expensive! My only grumble was the length of time taken over the trailers and advert’s, this amounted to 30 minutes which is along time to expect young children to sit before the main attraction starts.

 

Charlie and Hollie meet Shaun the Sheep.

The film that was showing in Screen 5 was the Belgian computer animated fantasy comedy film The House of Magic (2013) not something I would have normally chosen to see, but to be honest I found it quite entertaining, great fun and it certainly charmed the children who, in our case were very well behaved. The simple and straightforward story involved an overly cute cat that was dumped by its owners and found its way to the house of an old retired magician which he shares with a dazzling array of mechanical toys and gadgets. Not everyone is pleased to see Thunder the Cat in fact Jack Rabbit and Maggie Mouse see him as a rival for the affections of Lawrence the Magician and want him out. But when the real villain makes his move all join forces to save Lawrence’s house. I think my grandchildren might well want to return to the magic of cinema at sometime in the near future?

 

Happy Together.

Martin and Eline (Bien De Moor) are the perfect example of a happy couple. They live in a beautiful house, together with their two children. For them it’s like living in a dream. But when they sign the deed to purchase a summer residence in Tuscany, their fortune starts to crumble. The disappearance of their bank manager with large sums of money causes a serious of setbacks that bring the perfect looking family to the ground. Or are these setbacks much more the result of errors of judgment Martin made in an effort to secure his status? In an attempt to protect his family and himself, Martin increasingly gets caught in his own web of lies and cheating. The only way out seems to be a drastic one.[1]

 

A grand life style.

Happy families?

Directed by Geoffrey Enthoven, the Belgium film director, screenwriter and editor, this is a story of the hard done by upper middle class. The poor souls discover that they are unable to afford a second home in Tuscany, which for them seems like the end of the world. Does Martin except that after his bank manager Fred has embezzled all his money and that he is lucky his family live a life of luxury anyway and its certainly not life and death that they need a holiday home!  Obviously the answers no - otherwise there would not be a story! Well he askes his boss for a loan but his boss refuses and instead offers Martin a well paid promotion in the pharmaceutical company were he works if he agrees to skip further in-house testing of a new line in pills and go straight to human testing to beat a rival company in marketing this new product. Martin gives the proposition little thought before accepting. When the human guinea pigs start to become seriously ill Martin realises his serious mistake. His life is further complicated when he has an affair with his bosses sexy wife.

 

Eline is not enough for Martin.... 

....he has to share his bosses wife!

More like a slightly overlong TV drama than a feature film but it did win an acting award for the Flemish TV actor Ben Van Ostade who plays Martin. The acting is generally believable and the DOP does a grand job highlighting the family’s privileged life style. But the problem is that you know what is going to happen, it just takes an eternity to get there!

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[1] Translated synopsis from the DVD.

The Giants.

Abandoned by their mother, who shows no sign of returning, brothers Zak and Seth, 13 and 15 live in their late grandfathers house. Left to their own devices they team up with Dany, 15, who is abused by his violent simple-minded thug of a brother. The three boys spend their days stealing food from their neighbour’s well-stocked cellar, smoking dope, drinking alcohol and joy riding in granddads old car. When money problems arise the two brothers decide to rent out granddads house to a local drug dealer for three months to allow him to expand his retail business, not a particularly good move for the boys, but when needs must!

Premiered in the Directors Fortnight at the 2011 Cannes Film festival The Giants (2011) won its director and writer Bouli Lanners, best known in Belgium for comedy acting, the SACD Prize. It’s a mix off old-fashioned children’s stories along with the influences of today’s world and it’s pressures on adolescents. It brings to mind films like Stand By Me (1986) and Shane Meadows Somers Town (2008) and the fantasy of Enid Blyton’s adventures but at the oppressive end of the social spectrum. Photographed with imaginative verve by cinematographer Jean-Paul de Zaeytijd who uses to great effect the beautiful Belgium and Luxemburg countryside. Lanners direction manages to bring out the best from our three young stars Paul Bartel as Dany, Martin Nissen as Seth and most of all from Zacharie Chasseriaud as the youngest brother Zak who appears to be the only one really missing his mother!

Life's one big adventure?

A rather captivating coming of age drama about the highs and lows of three young boys who decide that life should be one big adventure but soon realise that this dream is not always obtainable. Our young characters not only build up a bond with each other but also connect with the audience in such a way that you can’t help but feel for them. It also has a cracking score by the strangely named Bony King of Nowhere! A cool European ending leaves you to decide if you’re an optimist or a pessimist?