Josse de Pauw Movies

A handful of people living in a Belgian suburb react in a variety of ways to news of a tragic accident in this multilayered drama. One evening, Francis (Johan Leysen) returns home from a long day at the office with a large dent on the front of his car and a clearly unsettled frame of mind, both of which are noted by his wife Ann (Johanna ter Steege). A few hours later, the body of a young boy is fund by the side of a nearby road by Christine (Ina Geerts), Francis and Ann's next door neighbor. The police are called, but by the time officer Mark (Peter Van den Begin) shows up, the child's body has gone missing, sending Christine into a panic, a situation made worse by a phone call from her ex-husband Fred (Robby Cleiren), who is deeply depressed and contemplating suicide. As the night wears on, Mark learns that one of his sons is missing, and may be the boy who Christine found earlier, but while his wife Gerda (Natali Broods) works as a cleaning woman for Christine, she finds it impossible to tell Gerda what she's seen, or about Francis's possible involvement. Meanwhile, Johnny the Flow (Jan Decleir), a washed-up fighter who lives in the neighborhood, had heard about the dead child and is certain he knows who is responsible -- Njord (Franck Chartier), a drifter with a history of mental illness. Een Ander Zijn Geluk (aka Someone Else's Happiness) was the first feature film from director Fein Troch. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One man finds himself pulled in three directions at once by his family and a chance acquaintance in this breakneck comedy. Miguel (Jacques Gamblin) is a single parent and Spanish expatriate living in Belgium who has to deal with a young daughter, Laura (Raphaelle Molinier), his busybody mother, Abuelita (Carmen Maura), and his pushy brother, Juan (Pedro Romero). Miguel works for Juan's travel agency as a courier and errand boy. Shortly after sending Laura off to school, Juan gets an urgent call from Miguel and he has to head to the airport. En route, Miguel gets caught in a traffic jam and encounters Sonia (Ingeborga Dapkunaite), an illegal alien from the Ukraine who is on the run from police after being freed from custody by a group of activists. Sonia has been searching for her boyfriend who disappeared in Belgium a year ago, and after much haranguing Miguel agrees to help her, but that's before he gets word from Abuelita that an accident has sent his daughter to the hospital. Fortunately Laura's injuries are minor, but once Laura and Abuelita hear Sonia's story, they decide to drop everything to help her find her man with Miguel along for the ride, regardless of Juan's feelings about the matter (or Miguel's, for that matter). 25 Degres en Hiver was the first feature film from writer and director Stéphane Vuillet. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Just how far should a father go to help his daughter gain fame and fortune? Jean (Josse De Pauw) lives in a working-class Belgian community, where he holds down a job at a bottle factory with his friend Willy (Werner De Smedt). Jean and his wife Chantal (Gert Portael) have a teenage daughter, Marva (Eva van der Gucht), who like her father, is interested in music; Jean likes to write songs in his spare time, while Marva dreams of becoming a singer. But Jean's songs don't seem to impress anyone but Willy, and while Marva has a good voice, she's overweight, has little charisma, and seems a poor prospect for success in show business. When the bottle factory is shut down, both Jean and Willy are thrown into dire circumstances, and Jean is trying to figure out how to support his family when his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. He is offered a ride by a friendly stranger, whom Jean soon recognizes as Debbie (Thekla Reuten), a well-known pop singer. In a flash of ill-advised inspiration, Jean gives Debbie a heavily drugged beverage, and after she passes out, he spirits her away to a cottage in the woods. He then contacts Debbie's manager (Victor Low), informing him that he has the star hidden away -- and if he ever wants to see her again, Marva has to be given a chance to sing on national television. Iedereen Beroemd! was shown in competition at the 2000 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"El Rancho," a sort of punk rock Animal House, is the setting for this college drama. Five roommates live in this group house on the cusp of college graduation. Jack (a mohawk-wearing Ben Affleck) is an art major pining over his ex-girlfriend, while Rob (Sam Rockwell) fears domestication after graduation. The artist of a popular campus comic strip, Mickey (Vinnie DeRamus), is still too shy to talk to girls. Slosh (Vien Hong) is an A-student who gave up his education in favor of drinking and partying. The elder of the crew is Dennis (French Stewart), who, despite the wisdom and advice he offers to his younger housemates, is unaware of the less-than-academic attentions of his professor (John Rhys-Davies). The five consider whether they can postpone their lives to stay for one more year. The film missed the trend in Generation X films (Reality Bites, Singles, Kicking and Screaming) by a few years; as a result, the punk characters and soundtrack of this latecomer probably provide a more authentic atmosphere. The rowdy debauchery distinguishes itself through genuine honesty -- drinking and destroying furniture may not be the healthiest way to deal with youthful angst, but it is certainly popular. Spalding Gray, Matt Damon, and Matthew McConaughey make interesting cameo appearances. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide

Two men with seemingly nothing in common become unlikely friends in this drama from France. Harry (Daniel Auteuil) is a salesman working for a large but faceless corporation, where he's become a success at the expense of his personal life. His wife Julie (Miou-Miou), frustrated by his lack of concern for his family, has divorced him, and while he still has visitation rights to his children, he manages to forget when it's his weekend with his daughters, and he neglects to pick them up at the train station. Harry is depressed and nearly suicidal; while driving late one rainy night, he accidentally hits a dog who is walking with Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a personable young man with Down's Syndrome. Georges lives in a mental institution, where he's happy and well cared for, but when several of the other patients leave for a weekend visit, Georges decides that he should leave too, and he sets out to visit his mother. Harry can't bring himself to leave Georges behind, so after burying the dog, he offers to drive him to his mother's home, which becomes the start of a complicated odyssey for the two of them, especially after Harry finds out that Georges' mother is no longer alive. Actor Pascal Duquenne actually does have Down's Syndrome; he and co-star Daniel Auteuil shared the Best Actor award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Dutch adventure drama chronicles the birth and preservation of a Flemish legend. The tale begins in mid-16th century Flanders when Spain ruled the area. A peasant revolt is in progress and a gang of rebels is seen lugging the giant head of a statue onto Nettelneck's farm. Just then the Spanish arrive and only one rebel survives the invasion. The rebel makes love to the farmer's wife and then leaves. She later bears a son. A few years later this boy, who is ostracized by the community, meets Campanelli, an Italian minstrel who claims to have witnessed the massacre and the boy's creation. He then fancifully spins a yarn about the curious lad's father, telling him that his father lives and helms a fabulous ship. He also tells the boy, his father can fly. The boy grows up believing this and eventually takes his lover Lotte to begin searching for his mystical father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Former circus performer Jaco Van Dormael made his feature-film directing bow with the Belgian/French/German coproduction Toto Le Héros. The title character is an fictional supersecret agent, idolized by a young boy named Thomas. The lad aspires to become Toto when he grows up; but thanks to a kaleidoscope of flashbacks and flashforwards, we know that he'll end up ordinary and unfulfilled. The film hopscotches between the Three Ages of Thomas: wide-eyed youngster, mediocrity-mired adult, bitter old man. The elder Thomas has never gotten over his childhood traumas and hatreds. He was always jealous of his wealthy boyhood friend Alfred, fantasizing that he and his chum were switched at birth. At the end, the aged Thomas escapes from a senior citizens' home -- an act which leads to Fate dealing its final ironic blow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Financial backers from three different countries--Belgium, Canada, France--converged upon the domestic drama L'Air de Rein (Easy In Mind). Carole Courtoy stars as a woman who is convinced that she has only a few months to live. In the time left, she wanders through various European communities, seeking out new experiences. Throughout, we're never sure if her illness will suddenly snatch her away, a fact which adds a veneer of suspense to the proceedings. Given its largest showing at the Barcelona Film Festival, L'Air de Rien was written and directed by Mary Jimenez. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If you like the title of this Belgian production, you'll love its source, a story by Charles Bukowski titled The Copulating Mermaid of Venice, Calif. Actually the film draws material from three different Bukowski stories to outline three crucial stages in a man's life. The hero begins as a 12-year old naif, "develops" into a miserable pimply adolescent who yearns for the girls who laugh in his face, and "matures" into an alcoholic, drug-addicted bum with a predilection for necrophilia. Amazingly, the material is handled with subtlety and sensitivity--the trick is to get through the film's first painful moments. The episodic nature of Love is a Dog From Hell is due to the fact that the film began as a 30-minute short subject, then was expanded into a feature when a distributor evinced interest. For its grindhouse playoffs, Love is a Dog From Hell was retitled Crazy Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This satirical Dutch film was the debut of its director-writer-star, Alex Van Warmerdam. Abel is a 31-year old man who still lives with his parents and is petrified of the outside world. His parents try their best to socialize him -- in some very funny scenes -- before his father (Henri Garcin) finally kicks him out. Abel does adjust and even finds love, the catch being that his paramour (Annet Malherbe) happens to be his father's mistress. Van Warmerdam's theatrical background is very much in evidence, as the cinematography (by Marc Felperlaan) and set design recall nothing so much as an off-Broadway play, albeit an occasionally hilarious one. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide