There are plenty of unsettling features of this simple tragic film, but all are treated with equanimity. Unless you are familiar with the Belgian hormone mafia, the first 20 minutes or so of this film winds up slowly until it is released. There are themes that remind me of Almodovar, but with the light sucked out.
The secret of storytelling is what to leave out, and the decisions about what to leave to the viewer seem perfect. Time is spent on the emotions of a man rendered incapable of a normal outlet, and how the few people around him compensate.
Matthias Schoenaerts as the protagonist is excellent, but this film owes everything to it's tight direction.
(Language plays quite an important part in the film, and the audience is required to recognise the difference between the two Belgian languages.)
The secret of storytelling is what to leave out, and the decisions about what to leave to the viewer seem perfect. Time is spent on the emotions of a man rendered incapable of a normal outlet, and how the few people around him compensate.
Matthias Schoenaerts as the protagonist is excellent, but this film owes everything to it's tight direction.
(Language plays quite an important part in the film, and the audience is required to recognise the difference between the two Belgian languages.)