feature film - Paris Cinéma

THE SEXUAL LIFE
oF THE BELGIANS
Jan Bucquoy
1994 / BELGIUM
For years, Jan has dreamt
of being a writer. Once he
has the opportunity, he
hurriedly flees his hometown
of Harelbeke to try his luck in
the capital. In Brussels, he has
his first sexual experiences
and also his first emotional
disappointments.
First of a six-part series of the
same name, The Sexual Life
of the Belgians traces Jan’s
rocky road to independence.
The iconoclastic, provocative
tone in which the young man’s
states of mind are portrayed
add to the radiance of this cult
series.
1h25 / digibeta / colour / French
original title La Vie sexuelle
des Belges
screenplay Jan Bucquoy
production Transatlantic Films
cinematography Michel Baudour
sound Jean-Grégoire Mekhitarian,
Franco Piscopo
editing Matyas Veress
cast Jean-Henri Compère,
Sabine Legros, Herman Brusselmans,
Sabrina Leurquin
international sales Films Boutique
CAMPING CoSMoS
Jan Bucquoy
1996 / BELGIUM
Summer 1986, against the
backdrop of World Cup football,
some of the organizers at
Cosmos Campgrounds try to
interest their compatriots in
culture, but the holidaymakers
have other obsessions.
Part of six-part series The Sex
Life of the Belgians, Camping
Cosmos is full of cartoon-like
portraits and archetypes of
“Belgianness.” Widely criticized
when it was released because
of its politically incorrect
nature, the film has acquired
cult status, in the tradition of
Belgian surrealism. An absurd,
poetic jewel.
1h20 / digibeta / colour / French
screenplay Jan Bucquoy
production Transatlantic Films
cinematography Michel Baudour
sound Jean-Grégoire Mekhitarian,
Franco Piscopo
editing Matyas Veress
cast Jean-Henri Compère,
Herman Brusselmans, Lolo Ferrari
Noël Godin
international sales Films Boutique
76
THE CARRIERS
ARE WAITING
Benoît Mariage
1999 / BELGIUM
A modest crime photographer,
Roger travels around Charleroi
on his motorcycle. Tired of his
life, which he considers too
banal, he decides to embark on
a wild undertaking: enrolling
his son Michel in a dooropening-and-closing
contest.
This is how he hopes to fulfill
his dreams of glory… and
also win the Lada that will be
offered to the winner.
Much like Man Bites Dog,
The Carriers Are Waiting is a
whimsical fable in black and
white, enhanced by the comic
force of Benoît Poelvoorde.
directors’ Fortnight,
1999 Cannes Film Festival
1h34 / 35 mm / black and white
French
original title Les convoyeurs
attendent
screenplay Benoît Mariage
cinematography Philippe Guilbert
sound Olivier Hespel
editing Philippe Bourgueil
music Stéphane Huguenin,
Yves Sanna
cast Benoît Poelvoorde, Bouli Lanners,
Morgane Simon, Jean-François
Devigne, Dominique Baeyens
distribution France Tamasa
Distribution
MADE IN BELGIËQUE
Belgian Comedies
PIC PIC, ANDRÉ
ET LEURS AMIS
Stéphane Aubier,
Vincent Patar
2001 / BELGIUM
On one hand, André, a sadistic
horse, who likes nothing better
than to persecute his friend
Coboy cowboy; on the other,
Pic Pic, “a very very stupid” pig,
says his creator. In different
episodes of the series, the two
friends encounter a giant chick,
a hitchhiker, a caribou...
Sequenced short skits, the
adventures of Pic Pic and
André owe their success to the
talent for derision of the two
stars of the Belgian cartoon
animation, Vincent Patar and
Stéphane Aubier, masters in
the creation of a wonderfully
wacky universe.
49 min / 35 mm / colour / French
screenplay Stéphane Aubier,
Vincent Patar
production la Parti production
animation Stéphane Aubier,
Vincent Patar
sound Yvan Flass, Guillaume
Malandrin
voices Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar,
Benoît Poelvoorde
distribution France Héliotrope Films
see A Town called Panic
by stéphane Aubier and Vincent
Patar, in the Paris CinéMômes
program (see p. 125)