Marc Didden Movies
- 2007
A budding pugilist who befriends a boxing trainer in a Nazi prison camp rises through the ranks while haunted by the accidental death of his beloved younger brother in director Guido Hendrickx's entry into the 2007 Montreal World Film Festival. Scrappy fighter Stan Vandewalle and seasoned trainer Max knew that nothing good would come to either if they remained complacently in their prison camp, so when they moment was right the pair made a break for it. Though their escape was treacherous, Stan did manage to save Max's life and the two men eventually made their way to safety. Despite the fact that Stan's starts to experience great success in the boxing ring, the fighter is dealt a devastating blow when his younger brother Alois is unexpectedly killed in a tragic accident. While Stan's embittered older brother Romain places the blame for Alois' death square on the struggling boxer's shoulders, Stan vows to become the greatest boxer that the sporting world has ever known in order to honor his fallen sibling. Later, after meeting a promoter named Kits who books him several important matches including bouts in Europe and Havana, Stan meets Julie, the girl who proves to be the love of his life. Yet as much success as Stan has both in live and in love, he will soon be forced to reflect back on his life while questioning the many important decisions he has made. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Janssens, Jan Decleir, (more)
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Josse de Pauw, Werner De Smedt, (more)
- 1997
In this Belgian comedy, two brothers are brought together by the death of their mother. In debt to gangsters, crude and aggressive Roger (Dirk Roofthooft) anticipates an inheritance but goes to Plan B after the mother's will indicates she sold her assets. To escape his creditors, he hits the road with his brother Bruno (José de Pauw). The two find curious encounters and surreal misadventures await at each curve in the highway. Shown at the AFI/Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dirk Roofthooft, Josse de Pauw, (more)
- 1990
Every year, the Heylen family gets together. Every year, they converse, quarrel, eat, bicker some more, make up, and start all over again. This year, they are commemorating the death of the grande dame of the family by attending a memorial mass. Afterwards, they dress up in various disguises to enact little plays they've thought up. However, the results of this charade surprise most of them. This drama is based on the novel Omtrent Deedee by director/screenwriter Hugo Claus, who first adapted it to the stage as Interieurs before making the transition to film. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jan Decleir
- 1987
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Josse de Pauw, Michaël Pas, (more)
- 1983
The unstoppable mood shifts of Max (Francois Beukelaers), a truck driver who has just put a gun to his mouth and fired an empty chamber, are evil enough throughout the film to indicate that all is not going to be well, if it ever was. After his "gunplay," Max takes a train to Brussels where he joins up with a barmaid, a streetcar driver, and an old friend and proceeds to change from a good buddy to a cold, derisive stranger with no visible mental stability. Max has vainly tried to dial a phone number throughout the film, and it is only after he loses it completely that the story reveals where he was phoning all that time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- François Beukelaers, Ingrid de Vos, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.